The Inheritance Lands by Anna King

Author:Anna King [King, Anna]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781666728156
Publisher: Resource Publications
Published: 2022-01-10T19:46:55+00:00

agreement

I would like to have a conversation

about next steps

he says on Thursday.

The cycle begins sewing

into my chest, pinpricking darts

hot and constant.

I text my friend Ezel,

I’m afraid whenever he asks

to talk.

You must learn to hear him,

she says, or there is no chance at all.

What can you do to hear?

Ask questions to make sure

you understand, my therapist says.

Repeat back. Verify.

Hear Chad, not your fear.

I let Aralyn’s Dad stay

for the second half of treatment Thursday, ask he bring

her home so I can leave,

mounting pressure to hear Chad.

I’m tired from a cold,

coughing, ragged, ready to up the sleeping dose

to the max the doctor advised.

She tells me later her Dad wept to her on the way home

his regret he ever left,

was an alcoholic, suicidal, but always tried to choose her.

The blue couch fabric presses against

a shirt he’s bought

since he’s left.

Gentled, bloomed,

I’d prayed for hours, listened

to music, limited

tasks. I grapple hard, choose being present.

We try this summer, maybe,

to go back to counseling.

I will get an apartment anyways.

He knows his cannot

do well at his parents,

the tug of destructive behavior he shuns.

I nod, willing to let it unfurl.

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