“If you think I look bad, you should see the other guy.”

Such pains evade the eternally ephemeral
—the ones only landing lightly,
A brush against a cheek so gentle you’d almost think you’d dreamed it.
So soft.
So fleeting.

We landed too hard this time,
The both of us.
Left an imprint on your face
Scraped your nose
Sliced your chin, just there. Just so.

And me, as much the worse for wear
Bruised down the spine
Through to the viscera.

I chose the wrong translation
for silent words that came out too loud
to hear them—

Filled in the blanks
with languages learned under duress
Held my breath when I should have exhaled
Flinched when I should have trusted.

Now come,
Let’s skim the doubts clear off the top
Then lick our wounds until they forget to bleed
While salt tears sting our hearts back into rhythm.

---

kfw 2023