In elementary school
I heard that feeding zebra doves raw rice
makes them explode.
If you feed an animal what it will eat
sometimes you kill it.
But it could live
in your imagination the way
children dream of war.
BB gun pellets sat in the grass
like gecko eggs.
We slipped them in our pockets
like tiny parents waiting
for something brutal to hatch.
At night we stared at moths and wanted
to beat their bodies to the ground.
We knew only small bads.
We couldnât believe
how big tadpoles grew.
Knowing whatâs wrong
is like knowing your mother.
Good thing we laid in her lap.
Good thing she let us sleep.
—
Rachel Tanaka was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. She is a recent graduate from Creighton University where she studied English and Education. She has work forthcoming in Vagabond City Lit.