[ANDRE F. PELTIER]

Injuries in Time and Space #3

One time,
playing at school,
I was young and
invincible.
There was a wasps’ nest
in the railroad ties
that terraced the grounds
creating a border garden
around the swings, monkey-bars,
teeter totters.
I stuck a stick
in their doorway;
they swarmed.
That morning at mass,
Mike turned and said,
“Your face is so big!”
Sister Mary Ann
dragged my stupid ass
to the office;
I was whisked to the ER.
Seventeen stingers
in neck and face.
Sometimes we learn
our modest
vulnerabilities early;
other times
we don’t learn
them at all.

[about]

Andre F. Peltier is a Lecturer III at Eastern Michigan University where he teaches literature and writing. He lives in Ypsilanti, MI, with his wife and children. His poetry has recently appeared in various publications like CP Quarterly, Lothlorien Poetry Journal, Version 9 Magazine, About Place, Novus Review, Wingless Dreamer, and Fahmidan Journal, and most recently he has had a poem accepted by Lavender and Lime Literary. He has also published and presented papers at international conferences like AThe International Conference on Narrative, MMLA, Midwest PCA/ACA, and the Mid-Atlantic PCA/ACA relating to history, society, and politics as they interact with comic books. In his free time, he obsesses over soccer and comic books.