The doctor is teaching Starfish, developed for children of war. I’m 67, but I’m on the mat, trying. Arms and legs out and then into fetal position. Out and into fetal. She doesn’t ask how I got this way, out and into fetal. I do live comfortably because of you, with acres. But I also live uncomfortably because of you, with tremors. Door slams, I yelp. Phone rings, I jump. Car honks, boy shouts, box drops: seize. Tight. Tight. Tight. Sometimes everything stops, heart, breath, brain. Would I forgo one inheritance to erase the other? Out and into fetal. Yes.
Lee Reilly’s work has appeared in Fourth Genre, Smokelong Quarterly, and elsewhere. The author of two nonfiction books, she hosts Shannaghe, a residency in Maine. “Clutch” is the Editor’s Pick for our INHERITANCE contest, part of the 2026 Micromemoir Marathon.