Thirty years later,

the memories  come roaring back,

in burning  waves, like a stomach flu.

Memories come unbidden when I am on

the subway, in Macy’s buying pajamas

or taking my children to school.

The secrets I could not tell

are the bile that collects

in the back of my  throat.

They are the meaI I can’t digest.  

They are the voice that drops off

at the end of a sentence.

They are always with me, hiding,

muttering obscenities,

peeking out from behind

the smiling face of a stranger

whose teeth are just a little

too big.  They are there

in strange smells that cling,

in menace rising from

the gingery hair

on a man’s arm.

They were my silence —

They are my scream.

Following a long career as a lawyer, Dana obtained an MFA through the Stonecoast Writers program. Dana’s first book, The Left Side of My Life, was published by Moon Pie Press in 2015. Dana’s poetry has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies including Muddy River Poetry Review, the Paterson Literary Review, Drunken Boat, and the Fish Anthology. Dana’s poem, “To My Daughter Teaching Science”, was featured by Garrison Keillor on the Writer’s Almanac. Dana is a proud survivor of childhood sexual abuse. Dana was honored to have the poem, “The Liar”, published by Awakened Voices in May 2017.