Do you understand me? When I say that
childhood was a crime scene do you understand
me? When the girl turns to the bad man and calls him
not by name but by screams do you understand her?
There’s blood poking through. From an opening.
A gash. Do you understand where it came from?
Turn to the bad man and let him be.
No mercy.
Do you understand that the blood never washes
off? Every month you are made a wound. Do you understand
me when I say this is inescapable? The crime scene,
the opening? The chance to take the bad man and strip him
down to bone. Make him a wound, steal
back the blood. Tell the truth. Here, in the opening.
Crime Scene
Rebecca Egan is a 27-year-old Psychology student from Melbourne, Australia. Her work has previously been featured in Peeking Cat Poetry and Persephone’s Daughters. It is forthcoming in 3Elements.