The Burial by Kristin LaFollette | Really System: Issue Five

The Burial

Kristin LaFollette

I have been a teacher

to a young man with many
tattoos who would sit in the
front row and talk about

cooking and food and culture—

We learned about tradition,
(all of us);

        People throwing tomatoes
        Celebration of the dead with food and drink
        Young girls becoming women

As a child, I was afraid of
people touching my teeth,
noises emerging from the dark.

Now—

I'm afraid to speak, my mouth
shut so it all doesn't spill out

Kristin LaFollette received her BA and MA in English and creative writing from Indiana University. Her poems have been featured in or are forthcoming from Crack the Spine Magazine, Dead Flowers: A Poetry Rag, 2River View, FIVE2ONE Magazine, LEVELER Poetry Mag, Lost Coast Review, The Main Street Rag, and The Light Ekphrastic, among others. She lives with her husband in northwestern Ohio. Find her online at kristinlafollette.blogspot.com and @ksam1989.

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