A hope
that when the child is found,
he does not rise from the flooded Fox River,
or the old Vulcan Lake,
or what used-to-be-called Twin Ponds,
or the Volo Bog,
but, instead,
speaks from the waters
of a different county,
such that you do not have to look upon him,
and suffer the sadness of that still face:
the recognition that there was more care
taken in the disposal
than there was from the conception to the end
of his five-year-old life.
Donna Kathryn Kelly practiced law for many years in the Illinois criminal justice system: first, as an assistant public defender, and later, as a felony prosecutor in a far northwest suburb of Chicago. Kelly is married to a county sheriff, who inspires her with his integrity, courage, and compassion.
APRIL 18, 2020 / MUSEPAPER POEM PRIZE #53 / MY HERO