10 SHANNON MCKEEHEN Elder i missed her heart attack when she realized that each squirrel was a security camera and each lotto ticket a pyramid scheme. i missed the red scare, the red faces shining bright in everyone's minds and how those faces are still there when she creeps into her cold bed. (their features are different, she claims, but all enemies are the same enemy.) i missedMLK in the spring time on a balcony she never saw. the shot milked the fright out ofher, out ofme, out of sight, out ofmind. i missed the rotting fruit in the White House who resigned before she said he was better than JFK, a sissy who couldn't keep his eyes from wandering i missed her heart attack when she realized everyone was only in it for themselves, but she cradled me, a small mind, and i rested my head on her thick shoulder and continued to sleep in comfort.
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