Playing Hide ‘N Seek with My Father’s Ghost
the blue-sky gleams [______________________]
from behind the oak tree [__________________________]
like it’s fed by the stream [__________________]
on the day my father dies
we believed they’d never find us
our hide ‘n seek dream
the green leaves hang [_________________]
giving shade to the brush below [_____]
rocks disrupt the rugged waves [_______________________]
like memories or pain
shhhh
ready or not here they come
the waterfall crashes [______________]
the bottom where it collects [__________________]
he holds my hand
squeezes i love you
into a tranquil place [____________]
where nature is free [_________________________]
stripped bare [_______]
with unending flow [________________________]
we are found
i flee to safety but he is caught
all of us run
one game away from being It
SELF Portrait as Character List
MOTHER—one diet pill at lunch will do the trick / always wear lipstick—Quiet.
BROTHER—a walk the day before I started high school / be like Kathy M and not like
Leanne T / girls are just categories—Leave me alone.
SELF—compulsively exercises / projects / perfects the inner critic / read Always Know What
to Say: Easy Ways to Approach and Talk to Anyone / because something
Chicago PSYCHIATRIST—questions exploring bisexuality are funny maybe you’re a tri-sexual
‘cuz you’ll try anything—Quiet.
Santa Monica barre INSTRUCTOR—corrects my C curls and single pulses then squeals I love
a project / pushes on my feet while I lie in savasana / gonna transform your body if it’s
the last thing I do—Leave me alone.
1st HUSBAND—budget with Quicken / you should read Dave Ramsey and save receipts
—Quiet.
Christian HEAD of SCHOOL—who welcomed me to the faculty with a hardback of The
Excellent Wife: A Biblical Perspective / because something about me
BARTENDER at Cork & Flame—lick the salt then suck the lime / comps a slice of toffee
layer cake in exchange for a smile—Leave me alone.
That EDITOR—never accepts my work / almost but it feels like there’s a moral
instead of letting the reader appreciate the messy characters / something says
—Quiet.
My CHILDREN, also my STUDENTS—who rewrite the script.
Candice M. Kelsey [she/her] is a writer and educator living in Los Angeles and Georgia. Often anchored in the seemingly quotidian, her work explores the intersections of place, body, and belonging; she has been featured in SWWIM, The Laurel Review, Poet Lore, Passengers Journal, and About Place among others. Candice reads for The Los Angeles Review, and her comfort-character is Jessica Fletcher. Please find her @Feed_Me_Poetry and https://www.candicemkelseypoet.com/.