Posts published in “Byline: ACE DUFRESNE”

My dog growls as a rabbit scurries by, Haunches tense, ready to pounce— When a bright flower catches his eye. How fiercely he wrestles it,…

Content warning: violence. Laughing, they assess the value of my ribs, broken and whole,Hover over my neck to watch me wince.How they pity the creature…

Content warning: self-harm. When I wash myself, the dirt seeps into my blood. When I bleed myself- my scars form mountains and rivers.Rise and run…

    She held the box to her heart. Either it was warm, or she was cold.     Ralphie had insisted on tying the ribbon that morning, its…

His scream ripped the airHis lungs hollow and rawShards skidded on pavementThen came to a stop. The silence laughedAs he stomped his feet.He broke, thenPerhaps…

1.to choosefamiliesyou won’t meet.to choose. 2.to breathe inmore smokethan allotted.to breathe. 3.to diefor your child’schanceto live.

The cage was beautiful.Bars plucked like harp strings.Stinging imprints on fingertipsSacrificed for sound. The cage embraced me.My cushions custom-made.A letter to my liberators:Conditions humane. The…

 The darkness spread slowly but surely. It enveloped every grocery store and shushed every dinner table. It blanketed the city, obscuring all notions of a…

 The guards whisper to each other, voices low and oily. As they turn to me, their hands drift to their weapons. Scanning my undressed body,…

They silence my world With blood velvet curtains— Dim the lights And exit signs They take my jacket Leave my shivers— Rest it six feet…

Your light hit me At an angle, precise A child’s game At a calculated price You cast my shadow large On a plastered wall You…

The door stands ajar: an open invitation, or, perhaps, a threat. I breathe in, filling my lungs with chalky, chokedair. Untouched for six years now,…

The jewelry had been sorted; the furniture, given away. Stripped of all that had once made it home, the house was a skeleton. There was…