by Sandi Sweeney
memory-breaking mania, frenzied pendulum; and how
last night our words
sweet shiny as neon red
HOT NOW
krispy kreme
are forgotten
this morning; and how
PM intoxication
stands in for
AM accountability; and how
it’s forgotten
stands in for
it’s forgiven; and how
absence readily
masquerades
as presence ///
[and how would i need to be
to wrap my mind
around last night
this morning
and how would i need to be
to wrap my ego
around forgive them
standing in for
forget them
and how present
would i need to be
to wrap my arms around
every sticky
slurring dedication
to our time as thieves
of forgiveness]
i forget
what we feel
this morning
is not
what we felt
last night;
and, howl.
/// we do it again
and again
we do it; and how
i do it
again
and again
i do it; and how
i forget
myself;
and how
i forgive
AMs
forgetting
PMs;
and how
i forget
morning
after morning
knowing not
what we do
night after
night
after
morning
after;
after;
and, howl.
E. Samples is from Appalachia and lives in Southern Indiana. Her writing has appeared or is forthcoming in Abridged, The Stillwater Review, Variant Lit, Kissing Dynamite, Lucent Dreaming, Still: The Journal, and elsewhere. She is on Twitter @emilysamples.
Sandi Sweeney is a mixed media artist and crafter. Her love of nature provides the inspiration for the pieces she creates and her approach is eclectic and whimsical. She enjoys taking pieces of nature and transforming them into unique pieces of art.