Not Normal

I count the fence posts

‘til they move too quickly to name

My face is cold from it’s rest on the pane

A relief to eyelids still swollen

Even still, my visage betrays the truth

Of tears shed, chords shred, pain endured, but—

I did not survive.

I was conquered.

I am not here.

I am not me.

The stop sign swings wide

I stand —

A day I won’t remember, begins.

— Melissa Lundell