My Grandmother's By Daniel Crocker

Ghost stories were seldom
ghost stories. The ghosts
always ended up being
demons

You could feel it coming
miles away, up your spine

She wanted to make sure
we knew there were no
such thing as ghosts
only demons and how
to ask Satan to kindly
step behind us

I've kept him firmly to my side
a Band-Aid I won't peel off

But she believed in UFOs
Swore she'd seen one
as round and orange in
the sky as a grapefruit

She also loved bingo

Otherwise, I don't remember
much about her except she
was a little bit mean and
quick with a belt

It runs in my mom's
side of the family
meanness

I've been
mostly successful
at burying it deep

I've put it at the center
of the earth
where it burns hot

Where all the ghosts are.


About Daniel Crocker:

Daniel Crocker's work has appeared in The Los Angeles Review, Hobart, Big Muddy, New World Writing, Stirring, Juked, The Chiron Review, The Mas Tequila Review and over 100 others. His books include Like a Fish (full length) and The One Where I Ruin Your Childhood (e-chap with thousands of downloads) both from Sundress Publications. Green Bean Press published several of his books in the '90s and early 2000s. These include People Everyday and Other Poems, Long Live the 2 of Spades, the novel The Cornstalk Man and the short story collection Do Not Look Directly Into Me. He has also published several chapbooks through various presses. His newest full length collection of poetry, Shit House Rat, was published by Spartan Press in September of 2017. Stubborn Mule Press will publish Leadwood: New and Selected Poems—1998-2018 in October 2018. He was the first winner of the Gerald Locklin Prize in poetry. He is the editor of The Cape Rock (Southeast Missouri State University) and the co-editor of Trailer Park Quarterly. He's also the host of the podcast, Sanesplaining, about poetry, mental illness and nerd stuff. He is a bipolar, bisexual Gemini living the cliché.