The Drop

A father’s fingers shake in
indifference as they
peel a family
apart.

His august hands
touch the skin of
a blameless child.

A crumpled paper
opens on his room floor,
as a baleful grin
spreads across his castoff face.

His yellow palms
embark through
the tales of a page.

Not just the words, but
the gaps. Not the
language, but the

sound taken for

granted – an overwhelming
presence that seized his
senses and
dropped

them:
a dense, ball

falling

through a wet spot
on parchment paper.

His fingers now struggle
to unread the book, but

fingers are just the
second hand on
the clock. It’s only time

before the pages
slip and lose order

scattering,
echoing on the
wooden floor,

crumpling with a message of
remorse stained on them from
the fingers, which now

resound
a story of regret.

ABOUT

Audric Adonteng is a Ghanaian poet raised in Massachusetts. His poetry explores his existence as the son of immigrant parents. Growing up in a small town, Audric relives profound experiences and brings them to life with his unique poetic voice. He has been published in 2022 Art on the Trails: EXPOSURE, The Eunoia Review, Lead & Pulp Literary Magazine, and Polyphony Lit.