Meet the Family
The brother of all words
yells ‘hypocrite’
from the bleachers
‘Remember that time’
he bellows
letting the rest of the sentence
drop into a void
of mangled memories
The sister of all words
Sneaks up behind me
During intermission whispering
I’m not sure that colour suits you
as well as you think
Then leaves
space for her perfume
to fill the room
The mother of all words
Fixes a point
in the middle
of my forehead
You have so many talents
she says
then holds her tongue
the way only she knows
The father of all words
is too busy
he’s somewhere
chopping or sawing
something is being transformed
somewhere between his hands
the sound of his axe
a reminder
Hege Jakobsen Lepri is a Norwegian-Canadian translator and writer. She had her first story published in English in 2013 and that has since been her writing language. Though she's primarily a prose writer, her poetry has appeared or is forthcoming in untethered, Prism International, Haiku journal, Under the Basho, Anti-Heroin Chic, Better than Starbucks, Watch your Head and Burning House Press. She has also been part of The Emerging Writers Reading Series in Toronto. You find her at www.hegeajlepri.ca