Collapse

Katrina Kaye

I had a poem
on my tongue
when I closed
my eyes.

It was stolen
by sleep.

A tiny collapse
of dreams
and empires,
only grand
because of its
destruction.

“Collapse” is previously published in Rabbit for Luck (2016).

Pieces

Katrina Kaye

We forgot
how to touch.
Our bodies go
through the motion,
the repetition.

The pulse
and flex;

it is
too much.

It is
not enough.

You sleep
beside me,
only a
whisper away,
yet I can’t
remember
what your hands
feel like
on my body.

I like to
tell myself,
it is easy to
fall back into
place.
But these
pieces have
turned jagged,
misshaped,
rough to touch.

On nights
like this,
I prefer to
sleep alone.

Katrina Kaye

i stayed up
too late

nursing wounds
that can’t be seen

the rising sun is sharp
in the window

beckoning

for two hours
i linger

hidden in bed frame
and cotton sheets

skin tight

too many exposed nerves
not enough backbone

i want to
stay pinned

butterfly to board
preserved in
my solemnity

it is too much
to ask

must i rise
again

“must i” is previously published in Rabbits for Luck (2016).