Sticks and Stones and Sorry

Carl, tall as his 6th grade teachers, hard

as the rocks he’s throwing while we wait for the bus.

Us fourth graders in a frightened huddle

out of the line of fire.

Nervous laughter from the other 6th-grade boys

with each rock they toss back at Carl.

He sneers, taunts, laughs at the—

A yelp! I turn in time to see daylight vanish

from my right eye as a rock slams my orb.

Buzzing in my eye socket,

blood on my toes,

orange and pink flashes

speckling my vision.

Vertigo.

A shadow from the left closes in, strong arms hold me up.

“I’m sorry, are you alright?” It’s Carl.

I can’t speak past the buzzing.

“I’m sorry,” he says again. “Okay?”

I nod through my pain, happy.

Truly happy, for I learned a repentant heart

can be buried under a hardened stone.

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Priscilla Bettis is an avid reader and a joyful writer. Priscilla lives in small-town Texas with her two-legged and four-legged family members. She enjoys writing short stories and poems inspired by her awe of God and love for fellow human beings. Priscilla is a reviewer at The Well Read Fish, a Christian fiction review blog. She chats about life and writing on X at @PriscillaBettis.