Analysis of Tell Her This

Slowly she threads the soles

back together holds intently

the needle that will pierce

through and out of the rubber.

She is not to prick herself.

Her room is filled to the wall

with shoes. Her arms are heavy

with twine. If this is payment

for her father’s debts no one knows.

She is the oldest person in this town.

Whomever she must owe must be dead.

None of us has the strength to tell her this.