How to Hold Air                                                                     
Emma Ramsey


To some I have it all.
Caught by the safety net,
Woven by my father’s hard working hands,
And my mother’s impeccable accuracy.

With the money he earned,
And the life she had in her.
I fell
Into the house,
With the full table,
And the soft sheets.

To some I have nothing.
I may have shattered the ceiling with my fall,
Dividing what once was whole,
Into a paper missing a corner.
Like my mother’s wedding ring,
Now she holds the diamond on the tip of her pinky finger,
As my dad treasures the band.

To me I have both,
I have been told I am a material girl,
I tend to chase the shoes of others,
Especially heels,
Other times,
I wear sneakers, with the laces so tight-
No one can slip them off.
So I can continue to chase what is not on my feet.

I guess I have neither,
I live my life in a misstep,
Where I’ll never hit the gravel,
Yet lack stability in my feet.
I will sit in purgatory,
Drooling for heaven.


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