(Inspired by the poem “Rewinding an Overdose on a Projector by Sean Shearer) The boy lies on a cot in juvenile hall with cartoon frogs and magic mushrooms stenciled on the walls, wearing thick orange sweatpants and sweatshirt, plastic sandals, and a rubbery wristband printed with his legal name—Maximus Bentley Schneider. He listens to the hoots and shouts reverberating back to rooms like his, all with heavy steel doors and open-view toilets. He floats back to upright. The Styrofoam plate of fish sticks, powdered potatoes, and boiled broccoli—untouched and cold—on the rust-red floor, levitates into his hand that reaches for … Continue reading Hock