For the Sonorous
Thrown
The stairway outside her sold house
and crutches laid by her side; The heavy tear
drop that flush her reflection on the invisible
lake she looks down at; the currents
that bring time and ones that pass; ones
she wishes would
take her along but their goodbyes
are just as
wide as the space she’s given but can’t occupy;
alleys of greedy scent and rotten smoke that bark
at her; Soap scums on her
body rinsed with fever, backed against the wall;
graffiti skin rubbed against her—with no thought
And when she finally breathes
she’s empty. Just like her old house—sold,
unprotected, priced-less, available
to tear down.
Tia Paul-Louis is the pen name for a fiction writer and poet from Florida. She’s the wife of a preacher and a mother to a three-year old girl. Paul-Louis moved to the US at age nine. Through many battles with foreign and old traditions, she finally found a voice through writing and earned an MFA degree in Creative Writing at National University in La Jolla, CA. She began writing lyrics at age 11 but later became closer to fiction. Paul-Louis’s themes portray family life, gender role controversies, and spiritual values. She also enjoys singing and traveling.
