The summer I ran away,
we lived in our trailer on Nickelville Road,
and my mom and cousin Robbie
were dating bikers, The Avengers.
That night my mom took off
without her glasses (she was putting on
make-up) with some other man
in a Jeep and stayed gone three hours.
I got fed up waiting and decided to light out
(she was reading me Huckleberry Finn) on my own.
I wanted to slide through the window,
to make a risky escape and be free,
but the windows were small and screened,
so I just walked out past Robbie.
"I'm running away," I said."Okay,"
she said, so I left.
I crawled in the doghouse,
where I often hid,
and my best dog Liz came in,
then we crossed the road
and hid again in long weeds.
As I was deciding where else to go,
here my mom rode up in the Jeep
with the other man.
Her boyfriend came out and caught them.
He hit her right across her face
with no glasses or mascara on
(that was always her last step)
and dragged her in the house.
I couldn't see after that.
We stayed in the weeds
until she called my name
and I saw her gray shape
lumped against the light
spilling over our dark yard.
