Excerpt from Audacity by Melanie Crowder, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

       Please,
            I say,

when Papa opens his mouth
to yell some more

       let me sleep, Papa.
       If you think I must be punished,
       very well,
       these bruises
       have done your work
       for you.

I lay my head
softly
against my pillow

Mama brings a cool cloth
gently
lays it against
the deepening bruise.

Tomorrow,
when the picket line disperses,
much as I may wish
for my bed
for a hot bath
I know now
if there are bruises
or cuts
I cannot come home
until night
shares her shadows.

Excerpted from Audacity by Melanie Crowder. Copyright © 2015 by Melanie Crowder. Excerpted by permission of Philomel. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.