Monique Harris
Fish Scales
My father had my ears
small and close to the head
like fish scales Mama would say
hauling his only picture from
the box. He would lie about
the weather all day, tell you
it rained when blue sky lived
hold out dimes before bills
He was the baby of the family
never joked with his brothers
always off in dark corners—
On some luck of the drawl
they made him a police officer
in the Army at Fort Benning
he cried about it some nights and
when I got written-up, he made
me run around that track and wrote
Insubordinate on top of pink pages
in front of them white officers
who said, he was a good nigger
And that one time in Germany
worn-out from drills and lines
when that woman’s spit landed on me
he lit my cigarette in the rain
remarked about my pretty teeth
told me I was wife material
if I learned how to behave
Last Day Working with Navy Students on a Small Frigate in the Atlantic Ocean, 2010
there was a bet on you he said
to see how far we could go
who could have you first he said
didn’t mean anything
didn’t mean you weren’t great
just something us guys do he said
we’re far from home he said
you’re the only woman here
could’ve been any woman
don’t take it personal he said
we’ll make you proud he said
one day
some of us will be
lawyers, emts, doctors
do you remember he said
the essay about careers
that hit home with me he said
fact, that was my first A he said
i revised that shit for hours
and i never knew comma he said
splices were so bad
for writing he said
cause you have to tell it all he said
without getting fooled
by the minor things
now come on he said
happy face! he said
the boys want to say goodbye!
Veteran’s Day / Mom’s Text
by Monique Harris
They are putting
razor blades in the gas
pump handles in North Carolina
Don’t remove any tissue
or handkerchief on gas pump
handles and don’t touch
any money on the ground
or on your windshield
Don’t drive if you see
a red note on the front
of your windshield
You will probably
delete this entire
message but listen
to me for once
Tomorrow I’ll
send the good news
I’m trying
to save your life
“Growing up hearing my mother’s military stories was a rite of passage. These poems attempt to explore the racism and sexism my mother experienced enlisted in the military in the late 70s. They also speak about my time as an English instructor teaching onboard Navy vessels in the late 2000s, when I taught first year composition to students on board aircraft carriers and frigates. These poems reflect on the shared experiences of mother and daughter and attempt to heal through words and images.” —Monique Harris
Monique Harris lives in North Carolina. She has been a healer, dancer, teacher, and fan of all things sci-fi and spiritual. She has an MFA from Indiana University, and her poetry has been published in or is forthcoming in Torch Literary Magazine, Wards, Yellow Arrow Journal, Moria Literary Magazine, The Talon Review and others. She currently teaches at a community college in Raleigh and enjoys helping people achieve their dreams. You can find out more about her work at monique-harris.com.