"Lost You" by Doris Grace

Lost You

My oldest feelings
towards my mother:
neither adoration nor
hatred but blankness. Like
a movie with no soundtrack
to direct emotion. The feelings
moving forward in time
gain friction, collecting
nail files and blunt edges
of coffee tables. She stopped
buying me clothes when
I was twelve and cried
embarrassed over
the jeans she
presented with an upturned
face, eager. Slouching in
my thrifted army jacket, I
stalked eagerness
out of her. Our dim
blankness threatened by
these tender flashes,
like the note she
left, a prophecy: “I
don’t want to
lose you

from my life.”

Doris Grace

Doris Grace is a baker poet who practices her crafts in Seattle, Washington. Her written work has most recently been published in Assisi and The Bitchin' Kitsch. You can find her baked goods at Cafe Besalu.

Headshot credit: Jason Miller

Photo Credit: Staff