Victoria Richard

My great grandfather knocked
A horse’s eye from its socket.
His belly overgrown
From having eaten all his kindness
Too soon

His son was a wheat farmer
Who spat education like tobacco
His belly overgrown from starvation –
Sharpness of tongue the barrier
To his bodily needs

His son was a sperm donor
Who tied wedding bells to my mother
His belly overgrown
From undigested remnants
Of this unrequited daughter’s pleas

Thus began the life of my brother
The whirlwind whose babyhood
Was sucked dry of tears
A roll of fat along his belly
Burgeoning, thirsting as it looks to the years

—

Victoria Richard is a writer and photographer from McComb, Mississippi where she attended Jubilee Performing Arts Conservatory. She is currently is continuing her education at Millsaps College in Jackson Mississippi as a double major in Creative Writing and English Literature. She has received three Scholastic awards for her work.