Have you seen my doll?
She has red hair, and a blue dress I sewed myself.
They promised they would let her stay with me
When they put me in the earth.
But they lied! They lied and lied and lied!
They gave her to my sister instead, just because she cried.
The others in the ground felt me tossing and turning.
“I’ll go and get it for you.” Someone finally wheezed,
Voice shadow, and bone. “But I’ll need some help.”
And so a dozen or more scrambled out of the grave
Mostly intact, leaving only a head or leg or-
Oh! I think it’s over. I think they won! I think I’ll get my dolly back.
Benediction for Ice Cream by Ana Marie Boyd
I can still hear the slow jam jingle of the ice cream truck gliding along past our yellow house like it was riding on rails
April 30, 2026
