She twirled too quickly
in her computer chair,
and felt the vicious slice
of papers thinning kiss
along her forearm.

(I feel swirling, vision whirling,
pain as sharp as nature’s teeth,
whitened hunger, penned with plunder,
agony flares underneath.)

She reacted too swiftly
in her computer chair,
and felt the soothing slice
of papers salting kiss
along her mind’s nerves.

(I feel gifting, ever shifting,
pain as sharp as nature’s birth,
colored hunger, torn asunder,
exodus begins its dearth.)

Erin Elizabeth Kelly-Moen
© Copyright 8/9/03