I couldn’t complain
when my stepmother
took the bread from
my plate and gave it to
her own daughter
She was a perfect
beast. The lion who
slays the cubs he
didn’t sire
The gene pushing
itself forward,
stampeding on
Hope is a scientist and writer living in Berkeley, California. Her writing has been published or is forthcoming in venues including River Teeth, Passages North, The Rumpus, and The Rupture. You can learn more about her and see her full list of publications at hoperhenderson.com.