It

1.

He followed you into the bathroom

and called you by name.

You didn’t know he’d shove

you into a stall when you turned

around, didn’t know he held a knife

in his angry hand. 

2.

Ctenophores, a cousin to the jellyfish

are sometimes hermaphroditic—

a single organism can be both male 

and female. When they swim

they look like angels,

sun from the ocean’s surface

penetrating deep

to light up nerves

like feathers. 

3.

You look in the mirror when he leaves 

and trace the cuts on your chest, 

red valleys bleeding little streams 

down your stomach, veins working 

hard to clot the wound—

two letters that mean nothing

to most people and everything

to you, you who traversed

sex like sea foam on waves,

you whose bruises unfurl

to make room for daylight.

-Published by Slipstream

© Copyright, 2015, .M. Brett Gaffney .
All rights reserved.