An Honest Woman

declared a day of mourning

for the missing

I hang REDress on my balcony

go outside to look for others

nothing all balconies clear of red

so I walk the streets

hoping to find others

few know that I am one

of the "lucky ones"

raped never murdered

only parts of me are missing

now sixty

I worry for the lost

for the "lucky ones"

aware that porn producer once said

every day another girl turns eighteen

so many bus stops truck stops with one-way tickets

grief cuts bone

the daily dismemberment of our hearts

as our girls are manipulated

reported missing

and their loved ones left

to drag rivers in Winnipeg

while others walk highways of tears

where it has been said

you can feel

the spirits of the missing

and today in this city on this day of mourning

their redress arms empty

they wave to the cars that pass them by

on roadsides on balconies

all reminders of what we are missing

"REDress" by Jnna Kirton, from An Honest Woman 2017. Published by Talonbooks.