Poetry of Issue #8        Page 47

Sorry, Not Sorry

Define muscle memory—
Expect a beating

List the things in your medicine cabinet:
Advil, betadine cream, peroxide
ace bandages, Xanax.

Define apology—
Body, I am sorry for the damage done,
the bruise tattoos, the broken things
that cannot be fixed.
Mea Culpa, I beat my chest
savaged by bites and burns.

Do you like being a martyr?
The question my therapist asks me.
Sometimes I stain her checks with my blood.

How do you plead?
Innocent in the court of popular opinion.

Define muscle memory—
My hands remember what to do with a gun.