Inez Clark — Poetry by Francesca Kritikos

 

the cemetery by my house is haunted, everyone knows the story. eight-year-old Inez Clark, caught in a lightningstorm like a rattled doll. all that electricity in her splintered skin never left. everyone in Illinois knows that story. she’s the oldest thing in Chicago, eight-year-old Inez Clark. she’s what the goddesses were to the Ancient Greeks. she’s word-of-mouth, she’s urban-legend, she’s the dirt beneath the city’s skyscrapers. she’s all we have left of history. she’s there, all right. i swear. when it rains in Graceland Cemetery, you’ll see the statue of her come to life, slip out of that glass box & walk around, with her tiny rainboots & neat plaits. i saw her eyes move once, i swear. don’t look too long.

 
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Francesca Kritikos was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. She currently studies literature and creative writing at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England. Her poetry has been published in Fur-Lined Ghettos, Witch Craft Mag, Lighthouse Journal, and more. Her website is francescakritikos.co.