her dig through her medicine
cabinet. Finally she finds the bottle.
This is a good antiseptic, too.
That’s why it stings so much.
The smell is almost enough
to knock me over. Hang on.
Sting? It’s liquid fire, welding
my skin together. “Holy crap!”
But it lasts only a few seconds.
And I’ve felt worse pain.
Darla looks at me with sympathetic
eyes. But then she says, Okay,
now that you’re going to live, will
you please tell me what happened?
IF I TELL
Things could go
from bad to worse.
It’s been stable here,
few real surprises. But
if I tell,
the status quo will be
ruptured. The system
isn’t famous for
equitable fixes.
Things could
go from worse to
unbearable. But if I don’t
tell, Erica will get away
with her disgusting act
and Ashante will