Open Door

Rebecca K. Rowe

She left the front door open.
She let out the indoor cats.
"You're free now," she told them.
"Forever."
The two crawled along the porch,
Their ears flattened at the agitated squirrel perched overhead.
They cowered at the sunlight that came in sharp stabs not
Filtered by the bedroom window
They bore her sadness as miniature overcoats.
At a safe distance from the girl whose tears had
Filled their water bowls
Their mews registered
As one long lament
Beyond the girl's Richter scale for emotion
They sang,
"What's lost never fully lives again."
Sniffing the predatory wind, knowing instinctively
Infinity has so many curves and sudden
Edges to navigate,
It's easy to disappear in it.

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Taste-no, Touch-no, Say-no

Rebecca K. Rowe

Tell me what it's like not to want to
Touch, but use your
Tongue,
For words that eat holes in things
Instead of one brave bite
That shows
Where your mouth has been?
It's a puzzle
All that desire locked in your back. Feel these fingers,
Down where the ribcage meets the spine. See your frissons,
Many thousand bumps across your arms,
Dark hair stands
Tall for once,
You're quiet. Not hurting anyone. Not being
Hurt.

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