she turned around. from left to right. interlocked her fingers.
the interior of the vehicle. in an attempt to establish. on the legs & feet.
against the passenger door. to free herself. events that occurred.
between his bicep & forearm. out of the window. in addition.
serial number. two inches in diameter. as if nothing had happened.
placed her feet against. elbows & face. she began to lose. the use of force.
wait & see. her left arm. behind her head. currently assigned.
pull the vehicle over. she was wearing a seat belt. opened the car door.
investigating & assisting. to fill with blood. in the left eye.
attempted to force. at the waist. a previous sexual relationship.
working these assignments. on an unknown street. he took his right hand.
the subsurface tissue is injured. drove away in the vehicle. on the evening
of. against the passenger window. responsible for investigating.
her elbows forward. left arm & hand. onto an unknown street.
on the left ear. worked various assignments. the front of her throat.
unable to breathe. sitting in his lap. left ring & middle fingers.
knees to her chest. walked away. going to get help. pretended to talk.
to further implicate. for one & a half years. she was wearing a seatbelt.
a dating relationship. with his right hand. to splatter all over.
levied upon her. close to him. in the face & arms. applying pressure.
interlocked her fingers & then released her. the stupidest thing ever.
‖ A collage of phrases found in the February 2009 police report from the
altercation between Christopher Maurice Brown and Robyn Rihanna Fenty. ‖
Niki Herd grew up in Cleveland and earned degrees in Creative Writing from the University of Arizona and Antioch University. Nominated twice for a Pushcart Prize, she is the recipient of fellowships from Cave Canem and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. Her work has been supported by the Astraea Foundation and the DC Commission on the Arts, and has appeared in several journals and anthologies including Feminist Formations, North American Review, and Resisting Arrest: Poems to Stretch the Sky. Her debut collection of poems, The Language of Shedding Skin, was published as part of Main Street Rag’s Editor’s Select Series. She currently lives in Washington, DC.