Katrina Kaye

I count
backwards
from sixty;

I hold
air in lungs
and try to
stop this
involuntary reflex.
A compulsion
to fight or flight.
An urge to
lose myself
in stale memories.

I take turns
breathing life
in and out
like the moon
pulls her tides
and overlook the
heart I left
soaking in
jars of
formaldehyde
awaiting
resurrection.

It is easy
to reclaim the
fleeting fervor
of yesteryear
in quick anticipated
gasps held in chest.

“When I See You” is previously published in Rabbits for Luck (2016).