Did You See Him by Darcy Smith

​Did You See Him

in every mirror          did you 
                   hear him          behind each door another coat
  your lips red orange          painted courage cracked
                when your son             left you 
didn’t dare ask or dig past            his veins collapsed 
                             
                     he moved on           clefting the web
           of skin between            his toes.

                          Your new slipcovers 
                            brightened the living room 
                               which was never truly warm.
 
                      He came back
                      woodstove            gone cold
          seizing not quite        convulsing
             spit gurgling            not throwing up not

that there’s ever                  any noise when 
winter nights turn black        his eyes
                                          rolling       past
                                      then back        to you  
                                               and Dad       then I got shooed
                                                        back        to bed 
                                                              shivering.

Darcy Smith works as a sign language interpreter. Recent poems have appeared and are forthcoming in New Reader Magazine, Sequestrum, Coe Review, Two Thirds North, January Review and River Heron Review. A Buddhist and a kickboxer, her current obsession is executing a six punch three kick combination with perfect form. 

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