When the Shooter Comes; Instructions for My Daughter
​Published by sPARKLE &bLINK of as a part of the Quiet Lightening Reading Series, 2020

I want you to crouch like a badger.
Drop deep into your animal body, become broad and flat.
Dig your sett in the dirt and crawl into the dark.
Wrap yourself with worms and mycelium,
he may not see you in the tangled roots.

You will hear his footsteps vibrate above,
be quiet, be quiet, be quiet.

Listen, we don’t have time for your human needs.
Do not call me,
I know that you love me.
Hold the thickest book to your heart,
and remember when I read to you.

Forget the metaphor and go deep into the closet.
Sit still as the broom
and steady your breath.
Remember the opossum,
and lay lifeless among the dead.

Think of your favorite animal,
emitting the smell of decay to trick the predators among us.
I’ll think of your small hands,
​wrapped in wool
as we drive the cold roads to school.