Us
This week I attempted to embrace failure
Some moments she showed up as a whisper in my ear
Her lips so close to my brain that her words caused a humming in my skull
Sometimes she grew into an animal in my gut
Who hotly clawed her way up through my chest and into my throat
Her growlings leaving no choice but for me to spit them out
Sometimes she seemed as if maybe she would not show up at all
Perhaps she was quieted, left sleeping in a corner of my heart
Until even her dreaming produced indecipherable prodding just the same
So I hummed
And I spit
And I was prodded
She rarely left me alone in all my waking world
But I looked at her and did not look away
We held each other’s gaze, and because of it we softened
Her voice, her nature, her fancies
Even when reflected back to me by others
Seemed my own…and I was contently sovereign for it
–April Resnick
Two Women by Eunice Pinney
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