The Reluctant Canary Sings
Reeks: Singers, Soldiers, and Saboteurs
Faith A. Colburn
- Bobbi
- Bowen
- lives
- in
- Cleveland.
- It’s
- 1937
- in
- the
- second
- dip
- of
- a
- double-dip
- depression.
- When
- she
- leaves
- the
- apartment,
- she
- passes
- the
- Holy
- Rosary
- soup
- kitchen,
- with
- its
- straggle
- of
- shuffling
- men
- and
- women
- in
- their
- bedraggled
- coats.
- Most
- days
- she
- hums
- the
- new
- swing
- tunes—Cream
- Puff
- or
- Sing,
- Sing,
- Sing—
- because
- it
- seems
- every
- time
- she
- turns
- the
- radio
- on,
- she
- hears
- about
- another
- dismembered
- body
- left
- lying
- around
- town.
- At
- home,
- she
- ducks
- her
- parents’
- fights—sometimes
- ducking
- a
- flying
- plate
- or
- saucer.
- So
- when
- the
- bank
- cuts
- her
- mother’s
- hours,
- she’s
- got
- one
- chance
- to
- keep
- a
- roof
- over
- her
- family’s
- heads—to
- turn
- her
- voice,
- her
- most
- private
- pleasure,
- into
- a
- public
- commodity.
- At
- the
- end
- of
- her
- sophomore
- year,
- she
- forever
- gives
- up
- her
- dream
- of
- art
- school
- to
- spend
- her
- nights
- singing
- in
- nightclubs.
- Even
- though
- she’s
- able
- to
- make
- enough
- to
- support
- her
- family,
- security
- remains
- an
- illusion
- she
- can’t
- seem
- to
- capture
- no
- matter
- how
- hard
- she
- tries.
- Is
- she
- making
- herself
- bait?
- Will
- her
- father’s
- betrayal
- destroy her?
