Portrait of a Mother Fed Up with Her Son's ADDictions

by Barbara Krasner Issue: Fall/Winter 2019 Special Issue on Margins

Armed with bags of KFC         she notices the broken living room windows
I got mad         smashed my fist through the panes         she doesn’t ask
if my hand’s okay         she focuses on the closet door         off the hinges
kitchen chair stalagmites         the Pergo floor
where I tried to disprove the claim         laminate was indestructible
I am indestructible         until she sends me away         to heal
Now I see her tired         fat         diabetic         arms folded
she won’t let me             back home
I have to earn my way                 home
No more lies    no more tricks         no more stealing         no more drugs
No         more   No more
I am a diamond         I am gem         I am baby         arms around me
I cannot be destroyed         I cannot destroy myself         I cannot destroy her


Barbara Krasner

Barbara Krasner holds an MFA from the Vermont College of Fine Art. Her poetry has appeared in Nimrod, Paterson Literary Review, Rust + Moth, Gravel, Typehouse, and other literary journals. She is the author of two chapbooks, Chicken Fat (Finishing Line Press, 2017), and Pounding Cobblestone (Kelsay Books, 2018). She teaches English and History in New Jersey.

Fall/Winter 2019 Special Issue on Margins