We were pretending  
by Erin Warman

my brother, sister and I
pretending to eat dinner
I was a daughter
and I was worried
my dad was gone
a long
long 
time
My mom grabbed her brown
leather purse
and went        outside
her scream....
like someone shot her
like a deer
she stumbled into the kitchen
crying, then she said, " He's Dead"
we knew what she meant
to hide my emotion
I scrubbed
and scrubbed till
all the dishes were
spotless
but on the inside
rats
were eating my heart.