GirlSense and NonSense Spring 2015 | Page 24

37 days before

And she was living

Just the way she liked

Surrounded by thousands of pages

And the scent of smoke

14 days before

And she was celebrating

Just the way she knew how

Surrounded by friends and brisk air

And the scent of alcohol

3 days before

And she was drunkenly laughing

Just the way she felt was right

Surrounded by love

And the scent of the night sky

During

And she was drunk

Just the way she thought she should be

Surrounded by flashing lights

then darkness

And the scent of white flowers

37 days before

And she was living

Just the way she liked

Surrounded by thousands of pages

And the scent of smoke

14 days before

And she was celebrating

Just the way she knew how

Surrounded by friends and brisk air

And the scent of alcohol

3 days before

And she was drunkenly laughing

Just the way she felt was right

Surrounded by love

And the scent of the night sky

During

And she was drunk

Just the way she thought she should be

Surrounded by flashing lights

then darkness

And the scent of white flowers

2 days after

And they were weeping

Just the way they knew they should be

Surrounded by the memory of her

And the scent of lingering smoke

16 days after

And they were remembering

Just the way they wondered

Surrounded by her collection of pages

And the scent of burned candles

59 days after

And they were reading her pages

Just the way she had

Surrounded by her

And the scent of summer flowers

114 days after

And they were settling

Just the way she meant for them

Surrounded by the maze

And her idea of getting out

115 days after

And nothing would ever quite be the same

Just how she mysteriously loved them

She was gone but they knew how

And she had left them the only way she knew

Straight and fast.

By Jamie Sugai