“1964” by Lorie Ann Grover

1964

I am born under
the bony arch of his
white steepled fingers,
spidered on the pulpit
of smothering scriptures,
parroted and puffed past
the encroaching mustache,
above self-satisfied pats
to a jerked-up waist
of holy polyester.

I am baptized and rolled
under the descending heel
of self-righteous
white patent leather
and crunched.

Lorie Ann Grover

Lorie Ann Grover’s poetry is forthcoming in Rising Phoenix Review, and she has published poetry in children’s periodicals and collections. While authoring fifteen books—spanning best-selling board books, middle grade verse novels, and YA—her children’s books have been named a VOYA pick, Bank Street College Best Book of the Year, Parents Magazine's 20 Best Children's Books, and a Carnegie Library Best Book. She co-founded readergirlz, which received the National Book Foundation's Innovation in Reading Prize. Lorie Ann has been a mentor for Stony Brook Southampton's MFA in Creative Writing and Literature. She identifies as a person with disabilities from lupus, Sjogren's, and rheumatoid arthritis.

Headshot: Lorie Ann Grover

Photo Credit: Staff