“Denoument,” by Suzanne Langlois (Poetry ’20)

2020 poetry alum Suzanne Langlois was recently featured in Rust + Moth. Read an excerpt of “Denoument” below:

Denoument

The only part of Time Bandits I remember
is the end, when the boy’s parents hold
a toaster oven between them with a charred
hunk of evil inside. The boy tells them
not to touch it. I think he says, “Don’t touch it,
it’s evil!” But they touch it anyway, and though
we don’t like them—they’re bad parents—
the resulting blast is disturbing. Even as
the curious neighbors step out onto their lawns
and the firetrucks arrive, we know he’ll be left
alone, which isn’t necessarily better. I might
be remembering it wrong. It’s been thirty years
since I saw it. But I remember clearly the dull
sense of dread settling in my bones. It probably
came from the recent realization that my parents
weren’t quite up to the task of raising me,
and that I wasn’t quite up to it either,
and those were the only available options.

Read this poem in its entirety here: https://rustandmoth.com/work/denouement/