“What to Do When You’re Locked out of Your Home” by Leigh Anne Hornfeldt

213 Replies

You’ll want to panic. Don’t.
This happens to everyone
and it’s important to remember
that you’re not alone, not ever
really alone. Can you hear
a lawnmower in the distance,
the rough bark of a dog? Good.

You could pace the perimeter
checking windows and rattling
door knobs but this is a waste
of time. You lock up. Tight.
You draw the curtains and leave
lights on so whatever it is you think
is trying to get you won’t get you.

Step back. Keep stepping back
until your home becomes
a dollhouse and your mother’s voice
is pounding in your ears
like a terrified heartbeat. Step back
until your home is a dark pinprick
against the sky. Here you will lose
sound, the lawnmower, the dog,
the mother. This is where you wait.

There is something inside your home
that must come out and you think
you might already know this,
that even cat knows this as he judges
from the sill each day. Try not to count
how many hours until the door opens.
Pay attention to the sun.
You wouldn’t want to burn.

-Leigh Anne Hornfeldt

213 thoughts on ““What to Do When You’re Locked out of Your Home” by Leigh Anne Hornfeldt”

  2. Rae Cobbs

    I know this is an invitation to everyone to look hard at my work! I’m wondering why the second stanza isn’t in past tense, in the last three sentences. I got tripped up, logically. And yes, it is both beautiful and haunting!

    Reply ↓
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  211. Oma

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