My girlfriend told me she had to
give her neighbor’s knives back
cause she feared what’d she do
left alone with them in her apartment.
Each day she walks by the river
and wonders about how many rocks she’d
need to pack into her pockets
before walking in

In the same breath she tells me that she is
the more stable of us in our relationship`.
because she doesn’t linger too long
 on her issues-Doesn’t bleed
 onto others
Like you, goes unsaid

And then the phone call ends

My throat swells closed
But she calls me back in just an hour
Telling me she talked to Anushka
And everything was fine
I bite my lip, grind my teeth, push breath through my nose
    I want to scream, 
when I ask why couldn’t you talk to me
She says don’t guilt me for doing what I need

Zora Satchell is a 24 year old Black queer poet who writes about mental illness, family, and friendship. She believes that poetry creates space to explore and heal from trauma as well as  allow us to imagine new worlds. She is a member of the Estuary Collective and holds a degree in Ethnic Studies from Colorado State University. She also serves as a reader for Borderlands: Texas Poetry Review.When she is not writing she is obsessively consuming pop culture. She loves good dance music and watching movies. You can find her on twitter @thecasualrevolt where she lets her typos run wild.