“I stood in the hollow doorway
and laughed for a time
as smoke danced on the edge
of my lonesome endeavors.”
This I wrote in repeated formation
as each line ran to the next

Eventually I was taken whole

The gutter, this life,
has captured
every secret I’ve ever held

It has tasted torrents of rain,
darkened snowflakes
(burnt to ash from broken stones),
which cut my hands often

I thought I’d seen the last of me

Like Jericho, I’ve been stripped,
poisoned, and tainted
with seeds as frail as you

Orchids rise
They sense my movement,
the cracks in my frozen mirror
hide from time’s wicked exposure

Bitter bitter snowflake
who melts on the windowpane

My spine collapsed because
its structure was denied

“I rang the doorbell
and silently moved
back to the street,
but I couldn’t hear
myself scream.”

Snowflake, mystic as you are,
I’ve changed my colors
to hide from your behavior

As you dance upon my skin,
we fade (one last time)
into the fire

about the author
Christy Lynne Trotter, a Dayton area resident, teaches English at Clark State Community College, and most recently, at Sinclair Community College. Her poetry has appeared in Mock Turtle Zine, and she has had a short story published in Flights. Christy’s short story work has also placed in a few local contests, and she freelances occasionally. In 2015, she wrote a profile on the city of Dayton for U.S. News and World Report.