Father and Son

A Poem

Photo by Nathon Oski on Unsplash

Red flames lick
the insides of my mouth
and give me hope
that I might escape
the spanking my father
promised before he left
to milk the cows
one last time today.
My eyeballs explode
like rotten tomatoes
thrown against the side
of the corn crib on
a hot, humid afternoon
when the cats are napping
and my sister is fanning
herself with pages from
a glamour magazine that
mom bought at the five
and dime. My nose
grows rapidly…