Like a kite string cut and discarded,
a holy sheet ripped into a rope,
a blueprint of our past lost
in the cabinet of archives,
she followed me down.
Like a rehab center that profits
off repeat customers,
parents who practice the art
of terrible parenting,
a brass bell on the reception desk
that has lost its tongue,
she followed me down.
Like an operator that refuses
to patch through the emergency call,
a water bottle filled with vodka,
a water tower that crashes to the ground
and floods the small town,
she followed me down.
--
Cat Dixon is the author of What Happens in Nebraska (Stephen F. Austin University Press, 2022) along with six other poetry chapbooks and collections. She is a poetry editor with The Good Life Review. Recent poems published in Thimble Lit Mag, Poor Ezra’s Almanac, and Moon City Review.