Husband
Samuel Rucks
I heard his voice after getting home from work.
I ignored him until I felt his breath on my neck
and his hands around my wrist.
I was already so tired when he came for me.
I fell from exhaustion, and he caught me
by the hair and pulled me out to pasture.
I was about to be a mother, and still, the earth skinned me.
I dug my heels in deeper, and he pulled me harder
across our farm, until he came to the tree.
I felt the birth of stars in my eyes and the force of hate.
I felt the ground blanket me, and I wished for
my bones to grow sweet tobacco and my skin to grow corn.
Samuel Rucks
I heard his voice after getting home from work.
I ignored him until I felt his breath on my neck
and his hands around my wrist.
I was already so tired when he came for me.
I fell from exhaustion, and he caught me
by the hair and pulled me out to pasture.
I was about to be a mother, and still, the earth skinned me.
I dug my heels in deeper, and he pulled me harder
across our farm, until he came to the tree.
I felt the birth of stars in my eyes and the force of hate.
I felt the ground blanket me, and I wished for
my bones to grow sweet tobacco and my skin to grow corn.