The Lion       The Witch       & My Brother Timiko
       

We're well past         your wardrobe
& on hospital steps.         You've jumped
from our mother's         40mph minivan

for a third time         this month. I beg
& explain         a concept high above
the black hair         on your head I shaved

it so many times         to the bareness: analogy
the Lion         is in your heart. & the Witch
doesn't ride backseat         in our mother's

Chevy Lumina.         Tumbling though across
your face it's obvious         you've eaten all
the Turkish delight         chased Kool-Aid smile.

They say Down syndrome         is
a continuum.         but we've ridden all the way
to Narnia for years         & arrived right here. Parked

our carriage so far         from the beautiful
British schoolchildren         on VHS you love
sometimes I wonder         if it'd be easier

for me to force         a flea market sword
through the white chest         of a real ice witch
anything to bring you with us         back home.

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Copyright © 2019 Benjamin Naka-Hasebe Kingsley All rights reserved
from Colonize Me
Saturnalia Books
Reprinted by Verse Daily® with permission