BY HAILEY SUMMER
Copyright is held by the author.
How do I run away from my problems
when the problem is caged within me?
Maybe I rip out my intestines
And drag myself
my bleeding corpse
away by my
trembling fingers.
Perhaps I could
Push myself up to my knees
and stand afterward.
I would pack up
my intestines in a box
And shove it under my bed.
Before leaving I would
rake my nails
across my face
And become unrecognizable
To even those who knew me best.
Leaving behind my burden
And the judgment
And the comments.
“I would rather die
than have that disease.”
So would I.
Maybe I would be known as
The empty woman.
But I would know
The truth
That I am finally free.
***
Hailey recently graduated with her Master’s degree in Rhetoric and Composition through Tiffin University (Ohio, U.S.). She is currently working on writing her first novel. Hailey is a first-generation college student, an avid reader, and a self-proclaimed crazy cat lady.
What an interesting poem. Intestines in a box stored under the bed is quite the image. Nice work, Hailey. I enjoyed your poem.