Murder

Claire Scott

Yesterday I murdered mother,
                  or maybe the day before
possibly sometime after lunch
                  I tucked her Hermes scarf
around her crinkled neck                               
                  yanking satisfaction
                  fists tense, nails slicing
                                    a kitchen knife chasing
                                    eyes vacant as steel
daily drops of belladonna
                  dripping delirium
                  breath held in icy suspense
                                    enemas burning, bursting
                                    naked in a shivering tub                                   
I shot her bloodless heart
                  exhaling each ripping blow
                  firing and firing ecstasy
                                    hazy nights, drugged days
                                    doors locked against a child       
I hear slippered steps jerk and scuff                         
                  time for milky tea and toast
made by your daughter,
                   the one-eyed jack.


Listen to Claire read the poem here:

About the author

Claire Scott has an MA in Counseling Psychology and is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with a private practice in Berkeley, CA.  She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Pennsylvania.  Claire has been writing poetry for many years and has recently begun to submit for publication.  She lives in Oakland, CA with her husband and is the mother of two sons.

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