I held a ceremony for you
I burned some of your hair
It stank like charred grain
And never left the room
Floating up the the ceiling
Hanging around
The way a slave haunts a tree
Or a miscarriage haunts a marriage
I went to the creek
I wish you could have seen my swollen face
Distorting the ripples
Reflected on the chalky cliffs
After you left
I grew my fingernails long
And painted them red
I watched the birch trees fall
And crack on the whirlpool escarpment
I watched the birch trees fall
And crack on the whitewater rocks