You All Are Phenomenal

By Oyah Beverly A Scott

PROMPT — The way I see it ...

When I heard Elijah's words

I wanted my bitter water

sweetened

with honey, lemon and cucumber

in my momma's crystal pitcher

or maybe it was another mom's mom

and I got it at the thrift store

where again one day someone

will find and seize it with joy

I hope its half price day

I unlatched the janky cabinet door

and bent to retrieve the glass

there it was lifting its tiny legs

while its tiny feet remained glued

to the trap my husband set

I watched in horror as I felt the futility

of his movements in my body

I tried to wash the pitcher and forget

but it was too much and it was too late

I have also stepped in traps

I had started that day with high hopes

and the usual scan

of my Facebook page

then everything changed

I read the story and the things he said:

                                                    “I have my ID right here”

                                                    “I’m just different, that’s all”

                                                    “I don’t even kill flies”

                                                    “Forgive me”

I lifted my eyes from the page

I turned my face away

but it is too late

I saw his sweet, sweet face,

then reread the words he said

                                                           “You all are phenomenal”

                                                           “You are beautiful and I love you”

                                                           “Ow, that really hurt”

                                                            “I will do anything”

my eyes blink desperately.

like the tiny mouse

trying to lift his feet

I can barely believe

this could truly be

                                                   “Oh I’m sorry I wasn’t trying to do that”

                                                   “I just can’t breathe correctly.”

I have poetry

I can breathe.

Ohhh me oh my

they have used

a hammer

to kill a butterfly

May Elijah McClain's sweet soul RIP

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Oyah Beverly A. Scott is a writer, poet and soothsayer. She believes her life experiences and her writing to be a beacon of light for those who stumble in the dark. She writes from Olympia Fields, Illinois.