I never knew my grandmother
because my grandfather put her away
for her own good
some say
she was silent & sad, very sad
my aunt writes to the family
Mother’s been so unhappy
last Sunday
Father took her to the home
she’ll be better off
why someone believes
incarceration improves a life
escapes me
what she allows
the tyrant to get away with baffles me
in the ’40s you could do that
lock people up for being inconvenient
he prefers another
yes, my mother knows
he tried to seduce her too
my grandmother steps away
leaves him be, refuses to speak
to him
she’s depressed, he says, no
says my mother, she’s mad, for a reason
locked away my grandmother escapes
everything
she doesn’t speak or move
she gives them her body
to clean & dress, feed & medicate
the separating power of space
she
disappears, like toes inside a stocking
like nits in a raccoon’s fur
the space where she flies free