I am so proud to have my poem, “Custody,” in the annual print edition of Santa Fe Literary Review 2024. The theme was about journeys, inspired by Robert Frost’s poem, “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.” When I saw the announcement early this year, I thought this theme was especially inspiring. The journal is beautifully produced and includes lots of artwork to accompany the poems, stories and non-fiction pieces.
The poem the journal accepted had to do with the plight of many children, those whose parents are divorced. These kids go back and forth and this is not an easy situation. I wrote the poem from the point of view of these:
Custody
The worst parts of the divorce
were Friday and Sunday evenings,
the drive back and forth. Anger
like tires spinning on gravel.
The little sentences of guilt
trying to pry out testimonies
of neglect and betrayal
while I sat in silence clutching
the newest cheap toy
that I always said was exactly
what I wanted. About that time,
in my fifth grade reader, I encountered
the myth of Persephone. The teacher
told us it was about the seasons,
but I knew it told the story
of a car ride where I was forced
to make my way among boulders
and roots, feeling torn
between the house and an apartment.
Someone always saying goodbye
in that voice. Journey I could not
escape that I had no say in,
as if I had choked on some seed
and had no idea of the consequences.