Almost Mine

by Alison McCabe

Shut face, dead eyes, semi-
permanent pout. the
heart clams up, mind boils
turning away, don’t know the way
back.

“Not my fault,” I say,
she’s not truly mine, not
mine, not
truly. Followed by excuses,
neglect, too few demands.
But,
the heart knows the cave door
has shut and no
abracadabra
is going to open it.




Alison McCabe is the stepmother of one now-young-adult daughter who lives in LA. Alison majored in
English 25 years ago and is now a psychotherapist in
San Francisco with a desire to write more.