Discipline The Child

By Michelle Y. Burke

Quilt voice into flat prairie land.
 
Swell stature into argument.
 
Carve wrongdoing into wood chips, easily digestible.
 
Engage in preemptive fork removal.
 
Do not be implicit.
 
Silence, a coiled threat.
 
What’s in your holster?
 
Separate the child from the chaff. I mean, spoon the cream off the top.
 
What do you mean you don’t have a holster?
 
Keep the curds. Discard the whey.

This Poem Features In: