Annie Christensen Poet Free verse

Where Did They Go?

At dinner today,
My Mommy and
My Daddy
Were being weird

Instead of them
Usually being tired,
They smiled a lot
Too Smiley

And also
My Daddy made
The food today
Mommy is supposed to make the food

The food didn’t taste yummy
The food tastes yummy always
Mommy and Daddy
Are starting to be

Kinda
Sorta
Just a little
Scary

At night
When I got up
To tell them
I had a nightmare

They were not asleep
Mommy was just
Sitting on the couch
Wide awake

Daddy was smiley again
Too Smiley
Daddy and Mommy
Are starting to be
Kinda
Sorta
Super Duper
Scary

I don’t think
That Mommy
And Daddy
Are the right ones anymore

I saw them pouring
Saltwater on my
Flowers
The ones I got from Mommy

I’m scared
This Mommy
And this Daddy
Are not my

Beautiful
Mommy
Kind
Daddy

Where did they go?
Where Did They Go?
WHERE DID THEY GO?
I want them back

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Alison A Smith September 20, 2026 at 1:57 AM This is an unsettling and emotionally immediate horror poem, brilliantly filtered through a child’s simple, trusting voice. The repeated “Too Smiley” and escalating “Kinda / Sorta” phrasing build dread with great control, while the saltwater on the flowers becomes a quietly devastating image of something loving and familiar being wrongfully changed. The final repeated question captures genuine grief beneath the fear.