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Inheritance​

your grandmother’s illness was a secret kept

so her family wouldn’t send her up north to the

asylum where her Uncle Isaac died

tied to his bed

 

it was paranoia and delusions

telling lies and

hearing voices in her head

 

it was chasing her daughter with an axe

throwing her baby on the bonfire

a string of kittens that never became cats

 

it became forgetting

that she married twice

lost a daughter

had grandchildren

 

it remains as fear

when you hear your name but

can’t see who spoke

as relief when you learn it’s not just you

who accidentally lies

 

it’s hereditary

© 2025 by Erin J Doyle

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