Blackbirdan online journal of literature and the artsFall 2017  Vol. 16 No. 2
poetryfictionnonfictiongalleryfeaturesbrowse
an online journal of literature and the arts
 print preview
back KARRIE WAARALA

The Morning After

this coffee, black as sin, forgiveness-sweet
these bruises licking knuckles’ arpeggios
this lamp dribbling light into this gloom,
across these eyes, reluctant tortoises

these knees curled snail-tight to rattled ribs
this chair, this blanket a hungry nest
this wind of witches’ voices stuttering these blinds
against this window’s flat indifference

this book a broken bird discarded on
this armrest where this cat insists now
this hummingbird purr, this sugared skull
knocking against mine, this swollen cheek

pressed tight to fur, rubbing, erasing every-
thing but this, rubbing, this moment, this.  


return to top