Excerpt
The Story of My Life
First thing is the belt
worn soft from my father's pant loops
curling like a black eternity glyph
across my legs,
pliant back of my thighs,
hard shin of my calves
in bed, almost always in bed
almost always in the dark
the strap in his fist
or standing in the middle of my bedroom
drawing leather in a whisper
from the waist of his pants
at least three times a week
for five years or more
that's seven hundred times
I know, he taught me math
the same way
because I was stubborn
he says, the belt was a mercy,
if I'd used my hands
I would have broken
your bones.
I love my father.
How can I tell the story of my life
without starting here?
Copyright © 2004 by Laurie Albanese