2026.9

Pearls behind pillows
A glimmer with every word
Soft-spoken treasure

2026.7

A phone clutched between
Narrow, frigid fingertips
With chipped nail polish

Loosely-fitting shirt
Hung low around the neck of
A pair of bright eyes

Open up, police!
Open this heart up, right now!
I’ll kick your chest in!

Today, my heart tried

To do a small somersault

But I choked on it

Gripped in steel and ice

A resigned heart beats slowly

For the time being

Flesh glued to thumbnail

Scraped away quick, carelessly

My bloody finger

Enamel pillars
Separated by a gap
A smile all the same

Trickle of moist

Beads like mercury

As salt and spit mix

With the crimson flow

The iron poison

The elixir of life

Out of a wound

Self-inflicted

By an enamel dagger

Treachery and betrayal

That sharp, quick intake

A sucking hush of gasped air

Just before the words