by Ciara Hockey
i was small before i met you
i pushedpressedsqueezed myself into the emptiness
into the c r a c k s in the sidewalks
into the p a u s e s between thoughts
i wasted my breath on people who never cared never listened never wanted to know
everyone was screaming in magnificent shades of indigo
but i could barely squeak out a pale pink shiver
their whispers wrapped around my spine
their hands wrapped around my neck
i was running but my legs weren’t moving weren’t feeling weren’t shaking
but
suddenly your chest was e x p a n d i n g next to me
i fell into the valley where your hip bone met the cool pale curve of your belly
i felt myself swellstretchgrow into someone real
i turned into I and I became me and you and then us and only us
and now I don’t feel so small anymore