Written by: Carolyn Shayte

Photo credit: Photographer unknown

The switch was flipped

the city turned on

and twinkled

from beneath orange clouds

vibrantly reflecting the sun as it made it’s way

to morning

made its way to the other side

So the earth turned

and the earth turned

and I wondered what you thought about me

He thought of her

with his soft heart

with his fresh wound

and his harden scab

and he tried not to think of her

The pan had been used twice

to fry oil

and now the smell stayed trapped

in the stairwell

but my mother always told me I looked ugly when I cried

so I sucked in my tears

pulled off my face

and went out into the world

without a name

Sometimes when she talked her eyes would glaze over

and sometimes when she stopped talking you had to call her name

and fish her out of her own mind

It smelled of other people’s houses

and how they make their homes

and the icicles grew as long as they dripped

and didn’t fall

and you always forgot about the trash

recycling

leftovers

kitty litter

oil bill

food shopping

laundry

sweeping

dirty dishes

didn’t matter

someone else always took care of them instead

And my heart hung crooked

and you were sleeping

as I whispered cautiously into your ear

what are we to become?

what are we to become?

what are we to become?

what are we to become?

…………………………………

Carolyn Shayte is a multimedia and community artist, poet, and avid nature lover living in Baltimore, MD.