Amberlee Carter

....shaving my legs to enya,
it makes me feel clean.
you've got free long distance-
you should visit more often.
...

(you know who you are)


pages of poetry scatter
...

the last leaves of autumn fell,
finding a grave in the imprint
of stranger's feet-
shallow as it was, they seemed content
...

Ok, so I'm sorry.
Isn't that what you wanted to know?
in that case, you win.
...

I’ve extracted you
from my body
like a sliver-
...

Because now
there is nothing more between us, except,
39 hours and 54 minutes that translates into:
distance
...

last night while I
played in another realm of consciousness,
I felt your hand move against mine,
as if you were reaching out
...

let me be nothing to you,
not a bell with a voice
...

This is
a death threat for no one,
a suicidal promise to someone,
a reaper's ransom note.
...

The quiet wait, contemplate,
the scene- everything it contains,
The mundane, the magic,
the vibrant, the apathetic-
...

leave me-
sun, moon, stars
wilting, glass fixture and iris
...

Mother woke me this morning,
her voice, a rattle of earth and worms-
it may not concern you, she is dead.
...

I woke, awkwardly
in the dim light of morning
to find the world hushed in newborn snow.
...

They gave me reality alterations-
told me to rest:
tomorrow will bring better days.
I question the existence of tomorrow-
...

I am writing this alive and with a fever,
'cause I needs to sweat out the virus
and breathe calmly without choking, for once.
...

I want to remember the world this way:
The light, steadfast on the windowsill,
a breathless sky and the autumn as beautiful
as it is bitter.
...

I take sleeping pills
to anoint the ache,
stay awake long enough
to feel myself float
...

Becker was sitting on the steps
in the final moments of day-

catching fireflies with his fingers,
...

dry grass prickles my feet,
9 years old ignorant toward
the feeling that paralyzes my heart,
creates a lump in my throat-
...

(who are we to question faith?
when we've yet to answer the call to duty,
for faith questions all)
...