Public Secrets
by Alison Cao

My mother was a magazine, my father
a telephone booth, and, having touched neither,

I’m still afraid of both. There are storm clouds
massing in the south, too drunk 

on rancid apples, soaking the hills
in rain. The air crackles like perfume. I ran away, but 

from where I can’t remember.

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Alison Cao is a high school senior from California. They are Peach Mag's 2021 SEED apprentice and a 2020 alum of the Adroit Journal's summer mentorship program.