sometimes
when i look in the mirror,
i see your face in mine—
the dip of your nose,
the arch in your brow,
the earnest
curve of your lips.
i wonder if
it’s a mind’s trick,
if it’s my head
assuring me
you’re still here.
my head
is lying.
**
i do this every summer
write about
another pitiful
lost love that wasn’t really
lost
because it wasn’t really love
sometimes i share
these pathetic poems
with my friends
they used to cry
now they wince
i’m losing my rhythm,
my lyric
**
i run the shower—
i like the water hot,
tattooing words onto
my back, carving
through skin, through bone.
fool
i stare at the walls,
lean down—almost
kiss the glass—
instead, i breathe.
i write in the fog—
your name, over
and over and
over
until the letters
blur together
into a pool of steam—
i see my reflection
but i can’t tell
if it’s me
or if it’s
you.
Sierra Elman is an aspiring author and poet. She has been recognized by the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, Stone Soup, NaNoWriMo, and is a three-time winner of the Sarah Mook Poetry Contest. Besides writing, she also enjoys playing the piano and guitar.