pain begins slowly... finally... to drip away
as crimson lines of feeling grow across her narrow wrists

the stifled voice that once pierced holes into a wall of despair
now lets anger swallow tears
diverting attention from truths too deep to reach

in the distance
a siren calls too late for redemption, the moment past
irretrievable

life drains into the bathtub
hidden behind a locked door
as five o'clock traffic stalls on the freeway

~ 5/8/2000 ~