Familial Intimacy

We are chugging to your death on the panting rhythm of your breath. I crush lavender buds under your nose – you open your mouth like a baby bird. You sleep with eyes wide, gaze turned in. I see into depths without being checked. On day three your eyes rise to the surface. Your lips…

The Arrival

Ahead of me the trunk sways like a coffin down the corridors. My parents heave it up the stairs, drop it onto the dormitory floor. A crater opens between us. Retracing our steps, I see them off at the school entrance – turn back to unpack my loss. Stuff it into drawers under my allotted…