daisy lives at the county jail
she wears faded blue coveralls with the name of the jail
in faded yellow stencil on the back
she sleeps on a mattress on the floor in the day room under
the television set with screwy colors and the sound
that’s broke and makes no sound
daisy wakes
the jailhouse guardman says
good morning, daisy
about time you woke up, sleeping beauty
daisy has short brown hair that frames her freckled face
her nose is thin and shiny
her green eyes have a distance in them
a receding depth leading inward to a place neither she
nor anyone else can reach
the jailhouse guardman tells me
medical’s been up here ten times this week for seizure calls on her
she fakes a lot of seizures
they figure only two of them were real
i wonder how they know
daisy smiles
stands up
looks around
says something to no one
sits down and covers her eyes with her hands
(Copyright 2023 by Tetman Callis.)