N. L. H. Hattam

N. L. H. Hattam has kept poetry as a constant companion, both in writing and reading. N. L. H. Hattam took a circuitous route to embracing creative writing as more than a hobby, graduating from SNHU with a degree in English and Creative Writing in 2017 after stops at Hampshire College, Roehampton University, and SCSU, studying subjects ranging across Forensic Entomology, Theater, Anthropology, and Art History. N. L. H. Hattam relies on writing as an umbrella to cover such disparate interests. N. L. H. Hattam was born in Austin, Texas and then raised between Minnesota, Wisconsin, and presently Connecticut as current residence. N. L. H. Hattam’s work has appeared, or is set to, in Genre: Urban Arts, Lit-Tapes, Funicular Magazine Online, Curating Alexandria, and Garfield Lake Review. N. L. H. Hattam appreciates the time others take to read/enjoy the poetry of any author and feels honored to be the subject of such gifted attention, even if only for a brief time before the torches are lit and pitchforks sharpened.

Hide and Seek in Newtown 12/14/12

Pink shirts and glitter print
Blue jeans and light up shoes
The dodge ball
A flash of red
Strikes soft flesh
Foul
It sounded like someone kicking a door
The closets in the music room smell like metal and dust
I didn’t bring my pencil
Again?
I’m sorry
You shouldn’t swear
Not on the loud speaker
Not ever
It’s bad
She didn’t move away
But She’s gone
I didn’t like running
It was cold outside
Even under the sun
Mrs. Smith was crying
I’ve never seen her cry
It made me cry too
I got to go home early
I got to have ice cream
They say I get to keep the blanket
It’s a weird color and smells like the doctor’s
I heard voices
I saw a black mask
They said not to look in the main office
They were wearing a lot of green
I got to be on television
I’m not going back for awhile
I’m going to talk to someone tomorrow
About what happened.

What happened?