There Was a Girl
A poem
A poem
You could not eat if I was in the room
You asked permission to sketch my olive trees
You hid your mouth when you resolved to smile
And veiled your eyes under the brightest light.
Your paintings are still hanging from my walls
And there’s a file that I prefer to avoid
A yellow cardboard folder, filled with shapes
You cut from coloured cards while staying awake.
There were the pills, the vials, the doctor calls,
Your peaked cheekbones, your dirty hair, your nails
Chewed to the quick. There was the razor blade,
There was the nail, the knife, the blood, the thirst.
There was a girl who was my bosom friend
There were two people, four hands, a sour goodbye.
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