taken off guard by the protruding
tusk of a small mastodon, Emma

is always surprised at
the objects she finds during

her parents mysterious absences

the demons who threaten
to escape from dark corners

the pile of serpents slithering out
of the basket in the laundry room

the blank eyed browless
black doll crumpled up

in her armoire beneath the dress
she was forced to wear

when her father’s mother died
a funeral rite she never understood

the sporting of dark colours