Tumbleweed Lane 

your mother never loved you
the way you love me.

you felt safer in the arms of a man
over twice your age at 13, a man 

who touched you in the back room
of the dance studio then made you his wife. 

I hurt because you never knew what safe was
as I lay here in my bed and think 

of all the things I wish I could say to him.
all the ways you should have been 

held, your voice like birds as you
rub my arm and sing me to sleep, God 

is so good and I cry because people
weren’t always good to you. You didn’t

know the neighbor was your sister and
you didn’t know your dad wasn’t 

your dad and I need you to know
that you are not your mother. 

Renee Boyer was born and raised in Lebanon, Tennessee. She grew up in a very musically talented family, so she has always been surrounded by creativity and the arts. She first achieved her Associates Degree in Business, then continued in the Arts and recently graduated with a major in Creative Writing and a minor in English. The power of words, whether through music, poetry, or creative nonfiction has always inspired Renee in all that she does.