"Your Parents’ Intentions" by Margaret Elysia Garcia

Your Parents’ Intentions

We swore an oath to

no arguments, no shoes thrown

no doors slammed and

no lying in wait.

Your parents — veterans of those battles — of

plain-walled apartments — would shield you from our

youth.

If we fell

apart

we’d do so quietly, whitely,

suffocating tears into stained pillows

and overworked livers.

You grew up in this peaceful house:

with a quiet air so thick

You began to cut yourself with it.

Margaret Elysia Garcia 

Margaret Elysia Garcia is the author of the short-story collection Graft (Tolsun Books, 2022), the poetry chapbook Burn Scars (Literary Kitchen, 2022), and a debut poetry collection the daughterland poems (El Martillo Press, 2023). She's the co-editor of the forthcoming Red Flag Warning: Northern Californians Living with Fire anthology with Dani Burlison. She teaches poetry with Community Literary Initiative. She’s currently working on her second collection of poetry, Water Shed, and a short-story collection called Catholic Chicana Noir. She writes a history column focused on northeastern California for High Country Life magazine

Headshot: Ryan Upton

Photo Credit: Staff