By Autumn Michels
Art By Lucy Keegan
Dear, I’m so afraid I’ve lost your key,
The one you entrusted to me. Please,
Forgive me if I let it fall onto wet concrete,
I’ll pay for a new lock,
I’ll pay for a new key.
Don’t leave me covered in the mud
I sifted through to find
That key, I promise
I did my best, I just have that hole
In my pocket. I swore it was mended I swore
To you that I wouldn’t lose that fucking key.
You’ll still look at me
Won’t you?
You’ll still see a competent girl
And not the mother
You ridicule at the dinner table
Snide sneers shared
With your father you won’t
Do that to me because you love me
Don’t you?
If your love is worth
A little nickel copper brass
I’ll find some more
Strip my wires
Melt my collection of coins
I’ll rip out electric sockets ‘til my nails are shorn
And grab those wires with a clenched fist
Make a new key and chain it to my neck
I’ll never lose it again.
Autumn Michels
Originally from Pennsylvania, USA, Autumn now attends school at the University of Connecticut in Connecticut, USA. She is a junior majoring in Political Science and English with a concentration in Creative Writing. Creative Writing has long been an interest of hers, although her interest and passion for poetry only emerged in college.
