Seams undone, unraveled and frayed
from the night I saw your right eye close
One eye moved from dirty feet to pigtails
I was a mystery you wanted to solve

Under layers of soil and rotting stems
A heart that could not mend with age
My voice suffocated your blatant lies
that accused rag-clad children
and strangled fears that excited the night
Tore my mind in two and hid my thoughts
in the shoebox of your hiking boots

Night is heavy, weighing down the
sapphire ring
You gave me for missed birthdays
Christmases when my only present
was a letter
typed in Courier New, 11 font
for a child old enough to read small print,
but too young for Times New Roman

Sapphire like my eyes, like the ocean
I almost drowned in
when you left Mom with me
alone. A ghost with transparent eyes
I was the past who reminded her
who you were and where the liquor
cabinet was