Attic
They beat you with burning
Glistening slim canes and
They always leave ruby marks
And lines indented. A drawn out
Barb so we knew that
God loved us. She burnt you because
She wanted to know if
You could love her; you stopped
Her heart with a cork and she
Floated. I was in white netting
Like a fish and I gasped for air in
Choked breath; I could not move
My arms but because I was water
I put her out. Later you cut me
Out and thank me; a stumped
Hand with heat-tightened flesh stretched
over
Milky-water eyes, confessional
In a spluttering kiss.
Image: Elizabeth Aline
