Emily Dolan
I saw a murder once
It curved upwards like a smile
diamond hardness softened
by the swiftness of its life
The corners of its mouth wilted
back to neutral stance
smile turned foggy memory
Haunting things in rearview mirrors
we keep our eyes ahead
I heard a murder once
Like child’s laugh and broken glass
eardrums —thin things that shatter quick
windows open in a windstorm
who knows what will fly in
The ghouls are out to play tonight
we hear them in the gales
I committed murder once
Tied a noose where kindness should’ve gone
felt the breath of cold steel against
my face, urging me to use it
When the moment came
I didn’t hesitate
created one more apparition
As we all have done
I’ve been murdered once
Skin gone white and bones to dust
crushed by cement waterfall
landmine buried beneath kind eyes
My intuition long escaped
from open eardrums, smile cut
into my cheeks
(there is no neutral now)
I greet the ghosts as I drift by
we are only now a shell
***
Emily Dolan is a 25 year old poet currently living in Sevilla, Spain. After completing her biology degree in 2016, she moved to Europe in pursuit of a professional soccer career. She has prior poetry and fiction publications in the Mangrove Review, and has publications forthcoming in CircleShow and Inklette.