Bad Girl
By Lisa C. Krueger
When she was ten her father left her
at a Denny’s—You’ll get back.
She walked the other way for miles
before a car pulled over, a man shouted
You are lost, opened his door to her.
Beyond him was darkness.
No lights, no signs, no people
telling her what to do:
she kept walking. Upright, strident,
terrified by her act.
Terrified she was bad
for saving herself.
Copyright Credit: Lisa C. Krueger, "Bad Girl" from Run Away to the Yard. Copyright © 2017 by Lisa C. Krueger. Reprinted by permission of Red Hen Press.
Source: Run Away to the Yard (Red Hen Press, 2017)