Christopher Bell - The Dogs

On the birth of our cousin Annie
we made the trip downstate
2 days on dirt roads my brothers and father
he let us stay up late
afternoons drinking tea
and swimming in the lake
my older brother jumped off the highest branch
and splashed the neighbor girls
he got in trouble and pa made him
stack the firewood
I still hear the dogs barking and the hatred in their voice
I can feel my brothers hand squeezing mine
hiding under the blankets and pillows under the basement steps
panting and choking hoping to catch out breath
after dinner of ham, potatoes
biscuits and cake
pa told a a bedtime story of ghosts and glory
and of a pretty girl
we woke to gunshots the sound of horses
running through the lawn
the thick black smoke billowing
eating at our lungs
babies crying, women screaming
until the dawn
I still hear the dogs barking and the hatred in their voice
I can feel my brothers hand squeezing mine
hiding under the blankets and pillows under the basement steps
panting and choking hoping to catch out breath
how could I see we're just human
how could it be the same
their voices and hoods haunt my dreams
I still hear the dogs barking and the hatred in their voice
I can feel my brothers hand squeezing mine
hiding under the blankets and pillows under the basement steps
panting and choking hoping to catch out breath