If she was a grown woman and saw it
she would have laughed,
flipped him off and walked away

but she was a child and had never seen it
just like she’d never seen
a shark bite a person in half

and this scared her like that
and all she saw was the
red lumberjack shirt parting

the jeans slipping down,
it coming out like a snake
that would strangle her with

just a sight and he laughed
though she didn’t know why
because she wanted to run,

get out of the jungle, but the shock of it
forced her to stand still
until he stepped closer and she felt

the ground shake her out of her shoes
as if an elephant had bore down
and she ran as fast as she could past

Mrs. Carter’s blueberry bushes,
to Pammy’s house out of breath, and told her
she had seen it and it was dark and thick

and she never wanted to see it again
and Pammy just laughed though she didn’t know why,
though it was a safe neighborhood

and they were just eleven.

10/18/2006

Posted on 10/18/2006
Copyright © 2026 Lisa Marie Brodsky