No one's heart has ever been punctured by parentheses.

 

As a child, I imagined that some born blabber & I had been accidentally switched in the hospital, though I didn't mentioned my theory to anyone for fear the error might be corrected.

Remember Charlie, remember Baker. They left their childhood on every acre.

My pretty little masochist, never learned the defensive method of duck & run.

Full of forgotten names & jars of hopes & dreams.

With broken syllables & fractured sentences.

Crumbling below a stranger's feet as the dust settles on rooftops & late afternoon calls my name.