Jackie McManus

Nightshades

I am nine when he opens
my bedroom door nine
when he sneaks into the
bathroom with me nine when
he shakes my shoulder late at
night nine when I use my hands
to fight him off nine when he
steps from a hedge to expose
himself nine when my teacher says
raw potatoes make a fine snack nine
when I am shoved against the bin nine
as I write nine when my mother finally 

                        **

flings the potatoes at the sink.
The kitchen startles at the sound of
something hard hitting something harder.
Like her hands, how they wash and peel and
with a swift twist, cut out the tender eyes.

Jackie McManus is the author of The Earthmover’s Daughter (2018) and Related to Loon (Finishing Line Press, 2021). She has been published in Sky Island Journal, Cathexis Northwest, Rattle, Thimble Literary Journal, VoiceCatcher, Barstow & Grand, and other publications. Whether it’s the Kuskokwim, the Gallatin, the Yellow or the Columbia, she always writes near a river, usually with mountains in sight.