Anna and Her Car
A poem by Juanita Rey

Anna and Her Car

Anna can’t afford
rent on an apartment
so she lives in her car.
But in an unsafe neighborhood,
there is no safe place to park it.

I suggest she move in with me
but she values her independence.
Besides, she says,
what can people do to me
that hasn’t been done already.

Rob me? I’ve got nothing worth stealing.
Rape me? I’m a corpse with a pulse.
Murder me? They’d be doing me a favor.

It’s early winter.
I look out my window,
see Anna parked across the street.

I go to her aid with a blanket,
wrap her shivering body,
help her up the stairs
into the warmth of my three rooms.

She falls asleep on the couch.
No more of that self-disgust,
I whisper.
You’d be worthy
of any crime committed.

About the Author:

Juanita Rey is a Dominican poet, US resident. Her work has been published in Mixed Mag, The Mantle and Lion and Lilac amongst others..

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