[Poetry] chainsaw

Read the third-place entry for our week of September 22, 2024 prompt, 100 Words.

chainsaw
by Sabrina Scanlan

my mother was a chainsaw in the desert
spinning her teeth,
grinding her gears,
trembling with power,

untested

she hoped someday
she'd catch something 
tough enough to cut
something to resist
her vicious maw

her sound was undeniable:
the slicing pull of the rip cord
like the peel of her laughter
smoke pouring from her engine
cigarette pressed to her lips

yet her exhales groaned
deep
disappointment

in the empty desert
she'd never
meet her match

my mother was a chainsaw in the desert

an out of place
reckoner

her noise, bluster,
and bite
lost to the sands
of time

About Sabrina Scanlan

Sabrina Scanlan (she/her) is a writer and poet who writes about motherhood, joy, grief, and the minutia of suburbia. Her poetry has been featured in the Art on the Ave "Letters to My Younger Self" exhibition, and is also available in excerpts at her Instagram, @scandalpress. She also writes creative nonfiction, personal essays, and short stories at her Substack, scandalpress.substack.com. She is based in Bergen County, NJ.

This piece was written in response to the prompt 100 Words.