Soft purple kisses
Decorate her forearms
Blood vessels lie sleeping
Beneath translucent paper skin
The unforgiving bruise that remains
Light oozes
From the expensive lampshade
That resides in the corner
It observes
Syllables roll off
Her limp tongue,
A mollusk.
They fall to the floor
With a dull thud
The numb pedantic rhythm
Of vowel and consonant
Blood runs
In rivulets down her cheek
***
The Lettered Olive is the University of South Carolina's undergraduate creative journal. Students interested in reading its entries or submitting work should visit their website, letteredoliveusc.wordpress.com.
