Main T.o.C. Change Resist Ground Art

Barbara Daniels Reunion Nobody told me my cousin Melody died. Leah is eight. She says her cat’s dying. She’s old for a cat, Leah tells me. All but two of her chickens and both her rabbits were killed by a dog that tore through chicken wire. One of my third cousins says she has five children and she herself was a fifth child. How is it you have no children, she asks me. How terrible. What terrible thing went wrong. What animals do you have at home, Leah asks. Her last chicken’s neck got twisted around. Uncle Nick died. And Mickie. Aunt Grace. I knew that. Nobody told me Melody died. Now that Mom’s dead, nobody calls with the family news. Leah, I have no animals. No chickens, cats, rabbits, dogs. Image by Alex Nodopaka

---