I Mom hires a magician for my eighth birthday party/ We have it at the Red Room at the Officers Club in Mcguire Air Force Base/Somehow a lot of friends appear/There is a rabbit[There is always a rabbit] & a man in a white suit rolls out an extra-large sheet cake that dyes everyone’s teeth black/ II I don’t remember any of the guests (names or faces) but I swear they were there/Mom and Dad have vanished/One of our rabbits (Holden) decided to castrate its hutchmate (Can’t remember his name.)There was so much blood/They are dead now/The magician signed my green autograph book/ III I used to love illusions/I got to hold the rabbit/I’ve grown to hate birthdays—
Victoria Nordlund’s poetry collection Wine-Dark Sea was published by Main Street Rag in 2020. She is a Best of the Net and Pushcart Prize Nominee, whose work has appeared in PANK Magazine, Rust+Moth, Chestnut Review, Pidgeonholes, and elsewhere. Visit her at VictoriaNordlund.com