Jussie (real names used to protect the innocent)
Alexandria Madero
My sister sat on a rooftop
and used a razor blade
to define her rage
and left marks
that did not kill
she is still screaming
it is a sinister matter
this cold blade on sweet flesh
pink and young but trembling
while she cut
suffering at the first sign of film-like
blood
streaming down her arms
small drops dangling from
her chipped fingernails
rich and glistening
the sun on
her black-tarred
hastily made bed
where she tried to die
“If I had had a gun
I would be dead now”
she says on a call
from the hospital
where they have put her in a special ward
The sound is eerie and flat
and I can’t find my sister anymore
not even in pictures
and I don’t know even know where to begin
to look to get okay now