shell
shock, dear
I’m over
all the stimuli
irises
burned out by Nagasaki
back and
forth, back and –
back and –
I hover
over my body
asleep
there, no peace
breath out
of sync
that used
not
be me, dear
-
discredited,
I sing you to sleep
to the
smell of my mornings –
not yours
and without
any trust I turn
to the only
memory of you
– me and my
cousin drank lemonade
from the
same bottle with straws
at Prague’s
train station –
– how do
you remember me
and do you
-
I carry
myself on my back
feet drag
trails behind us –
and
crucified on my shoulders
I try
whispering to me
the words
we imagined you’d say
– our paths
twist in cursive
to again
and again spell –
please
leave me and don’t
please
leave me
and don’t –
