Cul-de-sac:
an american childhood
by
Khadija Anderson
Khadija Anderson is a Muslim, mother, poet, and Anarchist. Khadija's poetry has been published extensively in print and online. Her poetry book History of Butoh was published in 2012 and she has an MFA in Creative Writing from Antioch University. Khadija curates a monthly Social Justice themed poetry series near Los Angeles, and is the 2020-2022 Poet Laureate of Altadena, California. Find her online at:
khadijaanderson.com
from Cul-de-sac
Heirlooms
When Great-Grandma Ann died
My mother inherited her blue hutch
Decorated with hand painted Swedish folk art flowers
Grandma Ann's son was my mother's father
That grandfather was the man standing in the doorway
Of the long dark room of my nightmares
My mother, her sister Sally, and my sister Chloe and I
Shared Ann as our middle names
I always thought it was a talisman
My mother, Aunt Sally, my little sister Chloe and I
Also shared symptoms of women
Whose lives were splintered by sexual abuse
Years later my mother painted the hutch
A fresh blue, covering up the flowers
I dreamt I watched my father masturbate
Until a Swedish folk art flower came out of him
