Published in: Artemis, Volume XXX -2023: https://artemisjournal.org/
If she were someone else’s sister
I’d again make her mine,
twist her bones
into recognition—
the catacombs of her eyes,
deep and memorable.
If she were lost
I’d surely find her,
coax her back,
the same way she returned
with each push
on the playground swing.
My studio clock,
a mercenary,
intones its message.
She won’t return.
The one who survives
is the one left behind.
(Title from Sappho)