content warning: child abuse, death, kidnapping, abduction and violence.

a pink Barbie book bag buried in a public park
lipstick marks on a pimpled face
denim pants and a scar on her knee
picking peaches from a neighbour’s tree

cherries on her left shoulder blade
long ponytails in spring
clowns in the rear window
deep-set eyes on slot machines

kittens playing in a no-parking zone
dogs abandoned in the rain
a deaf child on surveillance video
strangled to death in a felt hat. 

Note on the poem: This is a found poem that uses appropriated text from missing persons profiles on the FBI’s public website. No more than one line is from the same profile.