When I dig into this date, I find
nothing notable happened. No
historic events, no celebrity births,
no trivia to speak of. Nothing
coinciding with the kidnapping &
murder of a 14 year old Michigan
boy. Kenneth Myers is dead at the
hands of a serial rapist. Pretty
fucking notable.
— from “July 16, 1984”
It’s just a photograph. It’s just a reminder of a moment in time. That smile on your face, the style of clothing, the wallpaper, the innocence, the murderer. Sometimes we find ourselves in realities that shouldn’t be real. Situations you heard about on that true crime podcast you listened to yesterday. You laughed at the jokes they made. You oohed and ahhed at all the right moments, and patted yourself on the back when you figured out the twists and turns along the way.
But while you were listening to that podcast, a child was kidnapped, murdered, disappeared. But you were listening to a podcast and didn’t hear the name. You didn’t hear the importance of the moment. And since it won’t make your murder podcast for a few year, it doesn’t necessarily matter – to you at least.
In 10 short poems, Lannie Stabile’s Little Masticated Darlings (Wild Pressed Books), turns feelings of fear and confusion and sin and anger into little reminders that life is fleeting and can be stolen far away from the spotlight. Far away from the facade of mundanity. Far away from the reflection in the photograph.
Purchase your copy of Little Masticated Darlings from Wild Pressed Books.