Elise finally succumbed to exhaustion just as the plane was circling Schiphol Airport. She was flying from New York to Amsterdam to visit an aging uncle. Elise had never left the U.S. before, had
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distant laughter spills through open windows,
staining my bedroom floor some shade of before.
evening: I cut my hand on something I once said
while scrubbing memories out of the new rug.
I ran my hand under the tap; lifeblood down the drain.
the water, frigid, bestows anesthetic amnesia.
later: the open windows let in a draft, confessions.
the cherry wood floors splinter under the weight.
I tiptoe over rolling wood; stone skipping on water.
closing the windows is like blowing out birthday candles.
midnight: moonlight bleeds through gaps in the window blinds,
tattooing the wall above my bed with bright rectangles.
I hold my throbbing hand up to the light; silent salvation.
silver forgiveness drips down the length of my arm.
morning: I awake with a fresh scab, an answered wish.
under the watery sunrise, my hand is newborn.
I ought to watch the world from behind framed glass,
but, with a breath, I open the windows again.
staining my bedroom floor some shade of before.
evening: I cut my hand on something I once said
while scrubbing memories out of the new rug.
I ran my hand under the tap; lifeblood down the drain.
the water, frigid, bestows anesthetic amnesia.
later: the open windows let in a draft, confessions.
the cherry wood floors splinter under the weight.
I tiptoe over rolling wood; stone skipping on water.
closing the windows is like blowing out birthday candles.
midnight: moonlight bleeds through gaps in the window blinds,
tattooing the wall above my bed with bright rectangles.
I hold my throbbing hand up to the light; silent salvation.
silver forgiveness drips down the length of my arm.
morning: I awake with a fresh scab, an answered wish.
under the watery sunrise, my hand is newborn.
I ought to watch the world from behind framed glass,
but, with a breath, I open the windows again.
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