Midwest, republican, farmhouse.
Oldest sister with her siblings lined in a row behind,
All singing old hymns,
Few with the same mother and father.
Playing kick the can after dark,
Buying ice and cigarettes at the Kwik Shop,
snapping beans and planting potatoes.
Sitting on the porch,
amazed at the stars and my Creator.
Following all the rules,
Being a good girl,
Unlike the night crawlers that consumed the backyard
in their mating rituals.
Pastor’s daughter who was doomed to hell,
as grace slipped through her fingers.
Grace was the face of grandma and grandad,
playing cards, eating candy and the smell of powder on her bosom.
The Unmaking 