Incubus
Jump-start like an escape artist
Leave the apartment without grabbing your coat or your keys
Make haste down the fire escape in an unironed nightgown
Grey hair uncombed, neglected to the point of dishevelment,
With lips so chapped they split open
Board the bus devitalized, caught in ambsace,
Wrinkles under your eyes from years of selenography,
Get off at the last stop. Stay awake until you’ve reached the shore.
Under a cataract of sea salt, the opiate of the sea,
Run your fingers over the jade rosary.
By Rose Palma