I still remember when I pushed you
a little too hard.
You fell and gravel got in your arm.
Your white face turned an ugly pink and folded up.
Then you cried.
My only thought was —
Now they’ll find out.
“Don’t tell.”
Genevieve H. Abbot is a retired theater teacher who lives in Oak Bluffs, and spends some volunteer time at the Animal Shelter of Martha’s Vineyard and Rising Tide.