Poetry: Run by Niki Perez

Run

Rocks dented my skin;

I wore glass chips

for sneakers and walked 

 

like Jesus’ cross

moving sins. Failures like I

walked, not away but alone

 

screaming shame.

Shame, shame for we

walk different.

 

Not ones to nail bone

or hammer our fathers

walking down Mary Ave.

 

That road’s been danced,

prayed upon like my Love—

my dear darling. Don’t walk.

Niki Perez is a mom, a commercial real estate guru, and a word slayer. She makes no apologies for being an alpha female, though her sword fighting skills need practice. Once, Niki was an owl of literature and creating writing at FAU. You might find her pen in Lavender Bones, From One Line vol. 2, and Bullshit Lit Mag, among others.