Lisa DeSiro
Nightmare
In the night, a child steps into the room,
stands beside the bed. Quiet.
Shall I keep a safe distance?
It’s the child I never had, and the room
becomes a cathedral, quiet
Will this vex someone?
and full of children. There is plenty of room
for all of them here. They quietly
Phrase things differently?
cry, these children without bedrooms,
without parents, without the peace & quiet
Use a different tone?
of a safe childhood home. Forced to be room-
mates here instead, they are told: be quiet.
Lisa DeSiro is the author of the poetry collectionsHer publications include Labor (Nixes Mate, 2018) and Grief Dreams (White Knuckle Press, 2017), as well as several poems in journals and anthologies. She works for a non-profit organization and is an assistant editor for Indolent Books. She is also a freelance accompanist. Read more at thepoetpianist.com.
SUBMIT to What Rough Beast via our SUBMITTABLE site.