m(us)cle (me)mory

First published in Concrescence Zine, Issue One, 2019

A pulse thrums through my finger

purple, sudden

Runs up my spine, makes a home

behind my eyes

I snatch glimpses then let it slip

like a catch overboard  

Right hand curls into a fist

I don’t mean to make

Left leg kicks at nothing

in the night

I try to recall, cocooned

in sheets and sweat

Rotary fan locks and glares

at my half-asleep face

There is sand in the corners

of my eyes

and salt water freckles

across my forehead

I grab one last glimpse: some aches

linger longer than others

No

we’ve been here already