<\/p>\n
I collect dirt on Tuesdays<\/p>\n
to annoy my parents on Thursdays<\/p>\n
As I ram it down my throat twenty minutes before a family dinner<\/p>\n
“Too full to eat another bite”<\/p>\n
And then pat my stomach for good measure<\/p>\n
No one questions the dust beneath my fingernails<\/p>\n
Or the sand that coats my teeth<\/p>\n
“A new fad you’re too old to understand”<\/p>\n
Laughter<\/p>\n
My finger wiggles its way between my lips as\u00a0my teeth rip through two months of hard work<\/p>\n
spitting the remainder on the floor<\/p>\n
“So can I leave”<\/p>\n
They don’t stop the forks from hitting the plate with a loud crash<\/p>\n
or the smacking, spit flying across the table to land on my unwanted chicken<\/p>\n
I stir it with my mash potatoes, pretend its a new dressing<\/p>\n
Its better than gravy I can assure you<\/p>\n
My mind seems to say,<\/p>\n
before I shovel a spoon full into my mouth<\/p>\n
I let it roll around in in my gums\u00a0 before swallowing<\/p>\n
it goes down in pieces, no smooth transition<\/p>\n
“Delicious”<\/p>\n
A fork is pointed towards me, saliva coats its tip<\/p>\n
I lick my lips<\/p>\n
“Yeah, it took me all day to finish, I knew you would like it”<\/p>\n
Laughter<\/p>\n
My leg jumps at the sound hitting the table with every audible chew<\/p>\n
chattered tooth, mingling with metal<\/p>\n
I can hear an earthquake rumbling up my throat<\/p>\n
But I swallow it down, like my morning vitamins<\/p>\n
less healthy I know<\/p>\n
But what else could I do to soothe my nerves<\/p>\n
exploding like fireworks underneath my skin<\/p>\n
I drink more water<\/p>\n
Someone made a joke about my past mistakes<\/p>\n
Laughter<\/p>\n
I pop my\u00a0 neck and feel it sprain<\/p>\n
Not before I laugh too<\/p>\n
it’s bitter to my ears, too loud, too much
\nSo, I stop the laughter with a piece of casserole<\/p>\n
that seems to drip down my chin messier then I intended<\/p>\n
Laughter<\/p>\n
My sister finishes, silverware banging on an empty plate with purpose, silence,<\/p>\n
an announcement: “I’m finished first”<\/p>\n
No, words just subtle acknowledgment<\/p>\n
The chair imprinting holes in the floor screeches back<\/p>\n
Another does the same and another<\/p>\n
I count below my breathe\u00a0four in total<\/p>\n
There is no noise,<\/p>\n
the silence becomes friendly<\/p>\n
It sits with me for the remainder of my meal<\/p>\n
Its funny I know choked by noise<\/p>\n
to be caressed by the quiet<\/p>\n
but even I couldn’t resist the small\u00a0giggle escaping my clenched teeth<\/p>\n
Soft<\/p>\n
Just a whisper above a breathe,<\/p>\n
but sweet in this empty\u00a0 space<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I collect dirt on Tuesdays to annoy my parents on Thursdays As I ram it down my throat twenty minutes before a family dinner “Too full to eat another bite” And then pat my stomach for good measure No one questions the dust beneath my fingernails Or the sand that coats my teeth “A … Continue reading “Kid Friendly Bumper Cars”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.msabrookhaven.org\/literary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/970"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.msabrookhaven.org\/literary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.msabrookhaven.org\/literary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.msabrookhaven.org\/literary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.msabrookhaven.org\/literary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=970"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/blog.msabrookhaven.org\/literary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/970\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1113,"href":"https:\/\/blog.msabrookhaven.org\/literary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/970\/revisions\/1113"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.msabrookhaven.org\/literary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=970"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.msabrookhaven.org\/literary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=970"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.msabrookhaven.org\/literary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=970"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}