This Rotary Phone Doesn’t Save Any Numbers

please warn my mother I’m home
I’m afraid she won’t recognize me

I fear I’ve grown,
matured into something sub-human
scales have split my skin, raw and bloody
terrible claws sprouted from clenched fists

tell her I don’t know when it happened
she doesn’t know that I revel in lying

who can ignore
monstrosities forming

tell her I’m fine
I’ve grown to bask in the horror of reality
a lesson I learned well before
the bones contorted

tell her not to worry,
but
please warn her
I’ve forgotten the lullabies she used to sing to me

***

Alexis Jamilee Carter is a software engineer in Denver with an undergraduate degree in Computer Science. She wants to create, in every sense of the word and as much as possible, but writing has always been her home. Her work has also appeared in Okay Donkey and Runestone.

Twitter: @lexilee58