sentences around
 
 megabites of chicken
 
 and corn bread,
 
 waiting for
 
 the ax to clobber
 
 me. But Mom never
 
 said a word about the
 
 reason
 
 for the red marks
 
 across my cheek, and
 
 not
 
 only didn’t punish
 
 me, but let me off
 
 GUFN.
 
 Forgiveness
 
 granted, I made some
 
 decisions: appreciate
 
 family, focus on
 
 school and hunt
 
 for Kristina.
 
 I Mostly Managed That
 
 for the next week.
 
 Hit a reasonable
 
 educational stride,
 
 settled into the rhythm
 
 of classrooms, quizzes,
 
 study halls, homework.
 
 Hung out with
 
 Sarah and Trent,
 
 swapped summer