Relief by Jean M Hendrickson

"Relief Illustration V"
by Horst Jonas

The one they call crazy,
wears her nerves on the outside;
needs swaddling
from paper-white moths
that flutter and bump
against skin
cold as stone.

Noise swirls
in patterns
hidden in plain sight:
ghosts in the throes
of noisy grief
in a room that holds
too much freedom.

I am the Trojan horse
in a white coat.

BIO: BIO: Jean Hendrickson, a retired professional clown, lives in Norfolk, Virginia on the shore of the beautiful Chesapeake Bay.

Last year, she was published in The Powhatan Review, Roux Journal, The Ghent Review, and N0 0 Journal. Earlier works were published in The Daily Press, Reader's Digest, Moondance, Writing.com, Crone Chronicles, FanStory.com, and Portfolio Magazine. She won the Agnes L. Braganza award for nonfiction and the Christine Sparks Award for poetry in 2006. Her book, Tiny Poems for Women Who Think They Hate Poetry, was released in 2005 by Publish America. EMAIL: comments@moondance.org