Natasha Deonarain
when the shotgun
went off we thought
he’d finally killed her—
blackening eyes & bloody
noses like red & violet
flowers blooming
on a porcelain vase
but that never stopped
her from going back
to him before—
dad found her
lying on her bed
barrel pointing to her
chest & six months
later I found her
standing at the
bedroom door
gazing down at me
where I’d fallen
paralyzed on the
wooden floor—
she turned &
walked back
to her darkened room—
***
Natasha Deonarain is the author of two chapbooks, 50 études for piano (Assure Press Publishing) and urban disorders (Finishing Line Press). She’s the winner of the 2020 Three Sisters Award by NELLE magazine and Best of the Net Nominee by Rogue Agent Journal. Her work has been featured in numerous print and online poetry journals. She lives in Arizona, depending on weather patterns, and sometimes practices medicine.