Someone

This little horror poem isn’t for the squeamish.

The idea came to me when I was thinking about the notes my friends and I used to leave in each other’s lockers in middle school. I miss those notes. But I’m happy no one ever left any of these items in my locker.

“Someone” was first published in Grievous Angel in February 2016. Read it, if you dare.

Someone

Someone left a cat whisker in my locker.
I once heard whiskers bring good luck,
but I wish it wasn’t the exact color
of Snickers,
who ran away last week.

Someone left a flower petal in my locker.
At least I think it’s a flower petal—
it’s thin and pink and silky
and smells a little like the potpourri
my big sister keeps in her underwear drawer.

Someone left a tooth in my locker,
which is weird because my little brother
just lost his first tooth this weekend,
and the tooth fairy took it from underneath his pillow
but forgot to leave any money.

Someone left a picture of me in my locker.
I actually look really pretty in it
with the moonlight shining on my sleeping face,
but the angle suggests it was taken
from my closet.

Someone left a finger in my locker.
It’s wearing a ring that looks like my mom’s.
She left yesterday for a business trip.
And this morning when I thanked my dad
for tucking me in last night,
he said he didn’t know
what I was talking about.

© Carie Juettner, 2016

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Don’t forget about this month’s giveaway! If you want to be entered for a chance to win, just comment on one of my October blog posts OR share one of the posts on social media, and use my contact form to send me a link to it. Each person can enter up to five times, so feel free to share on multiple platforms. Here are the prizes:

• A copy of The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud (the first book in my favorite series: Lockwood & Co.)
• A copy of Susan Rooke’s debut fantasy novel, The Space Between (Susan is a friend of mine and I’m so excited about her new book!)
• Your choice of one of the journals from my Etsy shop.

Good luck!