She tries distracting me, the nurse, Don’t look,
And flicks the vein inside my elbow crease.
The needle slides in, mostly without pain,
And blood that coils in a plastic chain
Is like the fears I’m trying to release.
All day, they’re flowing faintly in my soul,
So close to heart and brain that I mistook
Them for my life. The nurse says, You’re all done.
Outside, the clouds are breaking for the sun
—pierced by light from tiny, pinprick holes.