A red stain
that dried black
on the collar
bone

I tried to hide it
with a scarf but

it slipped through
my fingers into a silken pile
as I lay
looking upward

I had forgotten
that the clouds disappear
when you quit while you’re ahead

The vacancy licked inside me
where the red stain was still fresh,
a blackberry that ripened
into my mother’s voice

I cupped it in my hand
until it burst

(9/14/00)