Games for Children
by Sara Backer
Image by Corey Purcell
Rock smashes scissors (force). Scissors
slice paper (censorship). Paper wraps
rock (propaganda). Red Rover calls out
the strongest boys to break the weakest
links, and then to mock the girls with
purple wrists. Dodge Ball winnows
down to one who must keep dodging on
and on, panic in his trembling chin.
Seekers pass power from It to It. The
best Hider, alone, wonders if it will ever
be safe to come out. A shaking
fist decides this.
About the Author:
Sara Backer’s first book of poetry, Such Luck (Flowstone Press 2019) follows two poetry chapbooks: Scavenger Hunt (dancing girl press) and Bicycle Lotus (Left Fork). Her honors include a prize in the 2019 Plough Poetry Prize Competition, nine Pushcart nominations, and fellowships from the Norton Island and Djerassi resident artist programs. She holds an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Art and reads for The Maine Review. Recent and forthcoming publications include The Pedestal Magazine, Crannog, Tar River Poetry, DMQ Review, Slant, and Kenyon Review. Follow her on Twitter @BackerSara
About Weekly Flash Prose and Poetry:
CutBank Online features one work of flash prose or prose poetry every Friday. Submissions are free and open year-round. Send us your best work of 750 words or less at https://cutbank.submittable.com/submit.