Nomination!

Cradle the Monster
Melissa Morrison

There are countless words.
Words I can use for that one moment,
that one second
that one instant
where everything became clear.
It was like a flashback from a movie
revealing memory after memory of my life.
I saw the gas spilling out of a tipped jug
not caring what it selfishly destroyed and
I smelled the stagnant aroma of pickled brine.
There was the Crack of a brittle twig, in a silent woods.
So here is the evidence I use to prove against you
How can you deny it?
I demand you,
not to cradle the monster in your hand
to welcome it more.
But I can’t sway you.
You listen only to the monster’s words
So I turn away,
knowing that my life is altered by that
bottle you clench in your hand.
And incased in my chest, I hold a limp heart,
wrinkled and leathery, defeated
from the words of the monster
coming from your mouth.