Author: CC Thomas
Location: Corydon, Indiana

CC Thomas has been published in The Chaffin Journal, Hot Metal Press, The Litchfield Review, Bellowing Ark, Toasted Cheese, Taj Mahal Review, Bibliophilos, and others. He appeared as a featured poet at The Kentucky Folk Art Center in Morehead, Kentucky; he's been selected as a finalist in the 7th International Poetry Contest, sponsored by Mattia; and his poetry was chosen for three poetry anthologies: Belonging, Kalliope's Women and War, and The Poetry of Recovery. He was awarded first prize in The Heartland Review’s short-short fiction contest, and received Honorable Mention in Lucidity’s winter volume. In addition, one of Thomas's short stories was recently chosen “Best of Theme” in Moondance. Two books are scheduled for release this fall: 221 One Minute Monologues (with his works), and a self-published book, With Their Dying Breaths: A History of Waverly Hills Tuberculosis Hospital. He's on the staff at a local newspaper and online magazine, and has been teaching reading and writing at the middle school and collegiate levels for 10 years.

---

D-Day

I was a casualty of their war
the day I was born; premature
lungs struggled to scream,
heart beat arrhythmia
out of sync with my familial strangers
who cradled me, cooing,
one eye measuring the love of the other
balancing on their scale of justice:
weighing my worth
with a two-week child
support check.

Tiny fingers clasped hands
preoccupied with
jabbing accusations,
pointed laser razors cutting me
not quite in half.
Shared custody
lessons learned in childhood
kindergarten class
forgotten by graduation,
sacrileged in marriage.

I was a casualty the day I was born
of a war that has never been won.
Smug smiles when bitterly discussing
“him” or “her” with the only
ours
that survived.
DNA-Punnet-square-proven blood
seeping from my wounds

left by the artillery shells,
machine gun hate
grenades of sarcasm
dropped on my dinner plate
left to eat
alone
picking
through the mines
of
acceptable
conversation.

---

---

Raving Dove® is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and a federally registered trademark.

Sitemap   Raving Dove Blog   Past Editions   Facebook Presence   Amazon.com   Disclaimer/Privacy   Daily World News

Raving Dove is a proud member of the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses, and The Nonprofit Association of Oregon.

© 2004-2009 Raving Dove, Inc., P.O. Box 28, West Linn, OR 97068 / All writing, photography and art copyrighted to rightful owners.