Gam Cheon Village .......................Aiden Moon

Ice Cream Sundae

free verse by Asa McManamy

His hands, weathered from long days in the shop, show scars from years past. Te cracked skin on his knuckles reminds me of ground starved for water. Te callouses along the skin where fngers meet palm scrape my face, but I still love him.

I can’t blame him for his little outbursts. He makes it up to me with a bowl of Blue Bell and some Hershey’s chocolate sauce. I can tell that it weighs on him. He’s trying his best.

Mom left us four years ago, which is fne, because I didn’t really know her, not like dad. Her red hair glows on that picture taped to the fridge––them both smiling years before I came into this world.

Written under the mentorship of David Huddle

90 Te Talon 2022