~ Featured Poem SS 2018
The week before their wedding
he threatened her, but they made up
and he swore he’d never hurt her.
She sits in a sterile room
remembering those words from
what now seems a lifetime ago,
but only her best friend
and the nurse with a kind face
know she’s lying about the bruises
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Shirley Valencia, a native Kentuckian who has enjoyed living on both coasts (NYC and San Francisco), is now a long-time permanent resident of Ohio, where she writes poetry and short stories. Her work has appeared in Mad Poets Review, Appalachian Heritage, Blue Unicorn, Star*Line and other publications.
Image by Debbie Berk