The Detour
 

The screech and pulse of stopping tires,

The screams of grown children.

The blue lines on the dashboard,

The stretch of my brother’s neck.

The rain thumping on the hood of the car,

The words left hanging in the air.

The fallen phone on the pavement,

The three single tears on my cheek.

The awful sound of my mother’s cry,

The terrible realization of its genuineness.

The failure of a careful balancing act,

The silence of shaking open mouths.

The unanswered apology in his hand,

The angry shout of a little girl.

The drips of rain from my sister’s hair,

The black lines down our faces.

The speechlessness on our tongues,

The eventual return to the road.

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Mary Belle Burg is an aspiring young author from Northeast Mississippi. She is currently working on her debut YA novel. Additionally, she has written three complete, unpublished novels. Mary Belle has won an English award and tutoring award at Itawamba College, and she has two short works published with The Gold Moose Talent.