water.
Salena Wiener
thick, choking water
filled my childhood home,
shrunk to her size and manic
hysteria, was forced to fill a
psych ward instead, and became
as small as a body in a bed.
early lungs that learned to
suck moisture, coughing
it out, and calling this breath,
learned how to breathe,
and feel guilty for doing so
without the one they
called mother.
Cauldron Anthology
27