Come now, circle cut in dirt
finger twist & bend cup palebreath
dreams command
snakes, sing
sultry song-tissue & fissured
……………………………………memory
descend, you who taught me cruelty
of blindness stumbling moonless & concussed
by nightforest, your terror- dipped step switches
through blades barefoot
……………………………………violet eyed
after you I welcome the visitations
yes, they become me
seizure of warmth
damp blackness these things
……………………………………a kindness
why do I trust the future
you’ve pinched into your dirty palms
divining rod pressed to my mind
somewhere blood twists uproot a child
awakens, nightforaged visions mangling her
chaste memories of land, of home and the size
……………………………………of herself within
do you remember the sun? you ask
your hands open
and close like mothwings
my only knowledge in the dark
……………………………………you love them to be so
each night I hear myself say no
no, I cannot remember
……………………………………things like this
Patricia McCrystal is a published poet and fiction writer from Denver, Colorado. She’s currently pursuing her MFA in fiction at Regis University’s Mile High MFA program. She believes she was followed by a poltergeist from ages 10-24. She is sad to see it go.
Photo: Omar Roque
South Broadway Ghost Society 