Once, the edges of the world melted and merged
And the corners scurried away,
afraid to even attempt
containing what sat between them.

Where there had been substance,
memories soaked up the space
like saturated paper
growing fibrous and faint.

Even the ground couldn’t stand to watch,
Because it knew its concrete heart would break
were it forced to witness
the way shame swallowed up innocence.

In that unexpected emptiness
she was so much smaller,
And there were no promises,
just endless room to reach in.

Nothing lingered to hold
or be held
A detail might have changed it
but instead there was only fear.

And falling.

With the fading of familiar fabric,
she absorbed the weight of the walls
until the heaviness was everything
and she became her own sinking anchor.

Photo: Dimitry B, Creative Commons.