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Jason M. Thornberry
Surrender

Into the night
I blend with traffic
From light to light.
Back on my plate
My white napkin
Lays folded like
A flag of surrender.
A purple sash of outrage
Across your shoulders,
Complementing
Exploded capillaries
Peppering my
Stepfather’s cheek.
The sycophant
Sitting beside you,
Agreeing, nodding
Frowning, confirming.
I was a fool
For not seeing,
A fool for not
Agreeing, a fool
Resisting your
Logic. Mother’s day,
We spoke but a
Minute. Your birthday,
Even less. Months
Later: the phone
Vibrates on my desk,
Your Hello a
Butcher knife.
I didn’t think
You’d pick up,
You whisper
About the writer:
Jason M. Thornberry’s writing appears in the Los Angeles Review of Books, JMWW, Letters Journal, North Dakota Quarterly, and elsewhere. He overcame a traumatic brain injury. Relearning to walk and speak, Jason earned an MFA in Creative Writing from Chapman University. He teaches writing at Seattle Pacific University.
Image: Woman at a Restaurant by David S. Soriano (contemporary). Digital image with AI assistance. No size specified. By 2022. By free license.
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Thanx for using my illustration! Great poem.
Dave Soriano