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Lew Watts

The Fairest One

It was thirty years ago to this day. I remember that it was cold outside and there was a full moon, just like that other night. You’d both cleaned your teeth and were tucked into bed, and for the first time I decided to mention her. I can still see the eye-rolls, still hear that long, sarcastic snigger. That’s when something broke inside of me. And I never have spoken of her since, and I never will, except this . . . 

Her hair was coal-tar black, and her psoriasis sloughed off flakes as white as her skin. You’ve never asked, but her name was Eira, the Welsh word for snow.  

a sudden flurry
my mother's screams
from the quiet room

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About the Author

Lew Watts is the author of Tick-Tock (Snapshot Press, 2019), a haibun collection that received an Honorable Mention in the Haiku Society of America’s 2020 Merit Book Awards. His publications include the novel Marcel Malone and the poetry collection Lessons for Tangueros. He lives in Chicago.