Gravity Works

Star

I was so lost when I moved to this city,
willowing and wide, dirty like a dial tone.
I thought I’d find out the truth,
like when we got into that car crash
in the parking lot. I knew what was important,
what was true, when I felt the blood  pool up
above my eyelid, and you swore and slammed your fists
against the steering wheel.
I remember thinking about stars and solar systems and the lights
on my mother’s Christmas tree,
as you unbuckled my seat belt and pulled me out onto the grass.

I think I must have been a star once.
The blood trickled all the way down the side of my face,
little drops on my sneakers, and running down my hands
But all I felt was light.

[© 2010 Sophia Nelson]