loss – Undusted Corners

Arnika

I claw at the ragged edges of sleep,curled up in a ball on the cast-off loveseatat the end of my bed,while you sleep soundly, legs akimbo,on the mattress. What conversation is there to be had?What rest is there to gain? I loved until my lungs were bruised.I loved until my blood ran clear. I’ve nothingContinue reading “Arnika”

out-living

CW: reference to sexual assault 1. He was trying to prove that I wasn’t a lesbian. Or so he claimed, when he didwhat he insisted that he had to do,while his intellectually disabled brother watched cartoons just outside the closed bedroom door. I was 18. He was 21. When he was done,I drank wine coolersContinue reading “out-living”

Departures

i. Hiking alone, I venture out onto the creek’s rocky outcrops. The water rushes beneath the rocks, beneath my feet, as the birds air their murmurings. The late-Spring breeze twists around my legs, raises goosebumps on my arms. Half a dozen swallowtails dance above the creek’s surface, then part and return, flying past me asContinue reading “Departures”