nestled under my ribs

nestled under my ribs Holly T Robinson

stumbling through the hazy tendrils

of grief I find a shattering on the doorstep to my interior

fragments of sweet nothings drip like

pooling honey

through the silky folds of memory

tenderly caressing the littered traces of a life

1

as I meander through wild thickets of time my fingers trace shards of loss blood blooms, furnishing the waters, colouring my insides with images of you.

Assembling an idea of an image of you.

2

a

softly falling confetti of images glitter on the inside as the taste of childhood grips my throat.

fifteen thousand moments of loving you I wasted

3

I can’t remember if I remember or if I’ve just been told

traversing the barren forgotten I trip on origamied histories creased and stained softened by age they open to swallow time demanding I bow in communion with their yellowed tales

4

5

in amongst the vast expanse of the unremembered are remnants of dreams dustings of moments that collect on my finger tips slips of time that trickle down my throat sit heavy on my chest and quietly nestle under my ribs unbidden, they emerge trance-like and bewitching grasping and hurling buckling my knees as I fall at the mercy of images that ask

me

to remember

with every breath Holly Tyne work in progress, 2021