Claudia K. GRINNELL was born and raised in Germany. She now makes her home in Louisiana, where she teaches at the University of Louisiana at Monroe. Her poems have appeared in various print and ezines, most recently in such places as Exquisite Corpse, Hayden's Ferry Review, New Orleans Review, Mudlark, Janus Head, Minnesota Review, and Blue Moon Review.

SO THEY SAY
 

Sacrifices will have to be made, serious
Belt tightening. You don't halve
What it takes. Because what it takes,

It keeps. The whole kit 'n caboodle.
So there you are: minus your caboodle
Where the arrow crowds the corner.

Ist verboten here. I'm almost
Late for a very important meeting: What
Looked much like a steering column

For a 2000 S-10, found
Near my magnolia. The rest of the car
Later, near Black Bayou. Someone

Heard a girl scream. The rifle
Range near my house explodes
Every 10 minutes masking

Something, I'm sure. The hand
Cuffs are cutting my circulation.
I may have to give up

Breathing. Before you forget: chainsaws
Operate best in an overheated environment.
Imagine: glue is good too. I never owned

An S10, but they say
I do. I've written this down
In several versions. The steering column

Probably killed her on impact, though
You can't be sure of these things.
The knife flashed against the moonlight later-

This is a very important day for someone.
A man wearing a party hat
Blows out a handful of candles

The fire in the attic was ruled
Accidental. For whatever reason,
I need to get more pencils.

Copyright © Claudia K. Grinnell, 2004. All Rights Reserved.
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