micaela walley
is an extension of your own. Some
man with a cane beat your skin and now
I bruise with each doorknob
taken to the hip. It isn’t enough
to say I love you, and I love the ghosts
of your legs which help me stand.
Your yellowed nightgown, your 8-hour workday
on Christmas, your fear of loss and of losing—It lives
in my hands, molds the curve of my fingertips
helps me hold onto everything a little bit tighter.
***
Micaela Walley is an MFA candidate at the University of Baltimore. Her work can be found in ENTROPY, Hobart, Huffpost, and Okay Donkey Magazine. She currently lives in Hanover, Maryland with her best friend–Chunky, the cat.