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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
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