Poetry

Laurent Bertrais photo

By

Zak Mucha

The Sacred Geometry of Trauma

(for Father’s Day)

The correlation between childhood trauma,

paranormal beliefs, and paranormal experiences

presents some evidence as to the lengths

we will go to create a sense of control

or to explain the chaos of childhood.

A covariance structure model suggests dropping

the direct causal link between

fantasy and belief,

hopes and expectations.

When the Powerball reached 300

million, my Pop and I agreed to split a ticket

once he used the Socratic Method to make sure

I knew how to place the bet.

We had no control over the numbers plucked

by God, but we could influence the

number of winners with whom

we would share.

I knew to pick 1 2 3 4 5 and 6

because what other fool would.

Zak Mucha

Zak Mucha, LCSW, is a psychotherapist in private practice and an analytic candidate at the Chicago Center for Psychoanalysis. Previously he supervised a community mental health program working with persons suffering severe psychosis, substance abuse issues, and homelessness. His most recent book is Emotional Abuse: A manual for self-defense.