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.