What do I do now? There are no maps<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
No brushstrokes gesturing to where I could have gone,<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Whimsical curlicues pointing my way.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
No celluloid images flickering my history at me.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cTo become who you were meant to be, you have to kill the past.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Is that what I have done? No phone calls with my parents for nine years.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Who gave me the right, one other human children never had, to<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Sever that bond? To act like I\u2019m made of metal, wielding a light<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Saber that manufactures their consent. How many years<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Am I allowed to stay this light? No burden<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Other people roll their eyes and put up with. \u201cOh, Dad.\u201d \u201cMom, please.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
When she decided nothing could stop her pulling me<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Into her bed. When he explained how I would always deserve<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Being cursed. \u201cBeyond the pale?\u201d But what if we were always<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Too far behind the dark? Dark behind dark,<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Moving where people couldn\u2019t see.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
What do I do now? There are no maps …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","categories":[9,49,119],"tags":[6,949,950,951,952],"class_list":["post-3368","article","type-article","status-publish","hentry","category-aquifer","category-literary-features","category-poetry","tag-aquifer-the-florida-review-online","tag-chaya-bhuvaneswar","tag-maps","tag-parent-child-relationships","tag-white-dancing-elephants"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n