Roxanne Ocasio

Nightmare

It’s midnight, dark so I can’t see
But I can hear the footsteps
Of an unrequited lover hit the concrete
Sidewalk. It’s getting harder to breathe, my mouth is
Dry, and I can’t run fast enough.
I’m holding my bleeding forearm,
My left hand glued to the sticky wound.
If I hadn’t gotten involved, if I had let the past go,
Maybe he would’ve left me alone.
All this is happening because I chose another.
I feel myself fall forward, I’ve tripped
And I’m scooting backwards, away
From a smiling mercenary, his blade poised.
I cry, I plead, and I suffer from
The cold steel.