By: Maggie Cantara
Reach inside my chest
Peel out this beaten
Heart of mine place
Her in the hands of
A table
not for surgery
For exposure
To vulnerability
Grab the neck
Of a whiskey bottle
Smash it against
Her like CPR
This is how sacrifice feels
shards cut
Away every sad smile
Any guilt
Any kiss
Every taste
Connect the wires
You took from her
Flood them with bleach
Clean up this
Murder scene
Dating back to
The death of a friend
Don’t fear blood
dripping from
My knuckles
Just to
Watch it fall
To
Watch her fall
Send a reminder
fight this
That we do this to survive
embrace
Courage
We don’t cower
Under pressure
invite it in
No need for a kickstart
She’s made immense progress
Since
Her first arrest
There will be no
Struggle for breath
like a
Stranded fish
Under a rock
Tie the seaweed
Into a bow
captivate her beauty
She’s taken hits like this
For a lifetime
But she will never
Allow herself
To die because
You couldn’t stand to
See her live a life
Full, and happy
Without you.

Illustration by Morgan Dyer
Categories: Arts & Culture