Kiyanna Hill
What the Child Daughter Carries
after Martha Dooley
Tamagotchi. Cherry Lifesaver jammed
up her noise, disguised as nosebleed.
Starched, floral pageant dresses. Silk
presses. Scorched ears. Mandatory visits
with soon-to-be absent father. Performances
with pink karaoke machine. Brandy’s “I Wanna
Be Down” on repeat. Chicken pox dotting
the body. Porch day with great-grandmother.
Seafoam green house dresses. Social security
money stuffed in her bra. As the World Turns
at 10am. Rose petals, double delight. Dust
from country roads. Clouded lungs. Naptime
before lunch. Train tracks. Too small lavender
jelly sandals. Off mosquito spray. Mandatory
visits with freshly returned mother. Fish fries.
Picnic table splinters. Tomato sandwiches only
during the summer. Thick lensed glasses. Quilt
on quilt on quilt to fight winters. Peanut butter
sandwiches for dinner. Daughter shipped off
to grandmother. Movie nights—R-rated movies
only. Tooth pulled with fishing line. Deep sleeps.
Clothes from JCPenney catalog. Dinner scraps
thrown to the yard for the stray dogs. Hiding
when mother comes for pickups. Daughter
learning to play dead.
Tamagotchi. Cherry Lifesaver jammed
up her noise, disguised as nosebleed.
Starched, floral pageant dresses. Silk
presses. Scorched ears. Mandatory visits
with soon-to-be absent father. Performances
with pink karaoke machine. Brandy’s “I Wanna
Be Down” on repeat. Chicken pox dotting
the body. Porch day with great-grandmother.
Seafoam green house dresses. Social security
money stuffed in her bra. As the World Turns
at 10am. Rose petals, double delight. Dust
from country roads. Clouded lungs. Naptime
before lunch. Train tracks. Too small lavender
jelly sandals. Off mosquito spray. Mandatory
visits with freshly returned mother. Fish fries.
Picnic table splinters. Tomato sandwiches only
during the summer. Thick lensed glasses. Quilt
on quilt on quilt to fight winters. Peanut butter
sandwiches for dinner. Daughter shipped off
to grandmother. Movie nights—R-rated movies
only. Tooth pulled with fishing line. Deep sleeps.
Clothes from JCPenney catalog. Dinner scraps
thrown to the yard for the stray dogs. Hiding
when mother comes for pickups. Daughter
learning to play dead.
--
Kiyanna Hill is Black poet from Virginia. Her writing has been featured or is forthcoming from the JWMM, Honey Literary, The Maine Review, and Autofocus. Currently, she is a Ph.D. candidate at Georgia State University and is the poetry co-editor of Beyond Bars, a literary journal that publishes the work of those affected by the carceral system.
Kiyanna Hill is Black poet from Virginia. Her writing has been featured or is forthcoming from the JWMM, Honey Literary, The Maine Review, and Autofocus. Currently, she is a Ph.D. candidate at Georgia State University and is the poetry co-editor of Beyond Bars, a literary journal that publishes the work of those affected by the carceral system.