Ellis Elliott
On The Eve of My Son’s Early Onset Schizophrenia Exam
The plumage of my devotion unfurls
inside a canopy of tangled tree branches.
My ragged wings reach to hide the moss-
covered nest of my son’s shiny eccentricities.
​
My delicate spine curls to cover his disparate
offerings: scraps of tinfoil, gold nib of fountain pen,
and the shifting hues of a hummingbird feather.
He hears them, insistent shards of sound coming
​
closer, voices circling and lifting from roots below.
The funnel clouds of chatter rise. With your small
body tucked beneath mine, I take off, while I still
think we can outrun this, while my talons clutch
your soft belly so tight they draw blood.
About the Author
Ellis Elliott is a writer, writing group guide, and ballet teacher. She has a blended family with six grown sons. She has an M.F.A. from Queens University, is a contributing writer for the Southern Review of Books, and section editor for The Dewdrop contemplative journal.