For the Child Molester
Let him sleep right through it—
thin syringe, everlasting injection.
Then let it hang
like an old wool sock in a closet.
Let him wake like a child
from night terror,
clatter down the stairs,
rush to the toilet
reach for himself with shaking
thumb and forefinger
around the soft base of the shaft.
Let him not even sense the warmth
of urine as it leaves him.
Let him feel like he’s touching
a soft dead bird
in that gray bathroom light.
Let him hunger for his hunger
the rest of his life.
By the same author
FORGIVENESS/ACCEPTANCE, Sally Bliumis-Dunn
For this feature, I solicited work from poets I admire that show this kind of psychological transformation and asked each writer to describe it as best they could.
Nathan McClain on “Previously Owned”: An interview with Sally Bliumis-Dunn
It is a real treat and honor, not only to have been published in Plume Anthology 10, but also to be in this sustained conversation with you, which has been very lovely.