Issue Three – October 2015 MAYHEM ISSN 2382-0322 ______________________________________________________________________________ Rachael Elliott Mother’s Garage Cleanout The first box smells sweeter than wet newspaper drag it under the light earwigs crouch top layer of cardboard peels off like skin ridges soften underneath old magazines eaten by acidic snails frame a self in pink sealed sections how to keep a man happy the word ‘breathe’ looks wrong I don’t remember how to stare at a mirror in a dark room trying not to pick pimples The second box flies into my hands I cannot see over its lightness friends for every year, louder lie over each other brown the shade of 16 teeth soft, still felt white of 4 worn into grey freckles of 9 but vivid eyebrows are permanent _____________________________________________________________________________________________ © Copyright remains with the individual author Issue Three – October 2015 MAYHEM ISSN 2382-0322 ______________________________________________________________________________ small Dalmatians corners missing I remember the price of everything close the lid write “to go” The third box opens on a field of fleece unpeel its membrane for a frog, cool in my hand as I crouch in the pool fish flicking my calves porcelain chips fall and click each other at the bottom of the box stroke presents from women I cannot name but every time I cry I smell their lavender shoulders I set aside my first yellow fence two locked diaries to break into handmade denim pencil case red zip for keeping I leave the snakeskin behind he can’t find his tail for eating I feed the boxes left behind into the fire of the rusted barrel only one translucent container _____________________________________________________________________________________________ © Copyright remains with the individual author MAYHEM Issue Three – October 2015 ISSN 2382-0322 ______________________________________________________________________________ to fill magazines melt from my eyes the ash of my childhood covers everything I am grey but shoots of green peep through _____________________________________________________________________________________________ © Copyright remains with the individual author
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