Easy Mirrors
The Thanksgiving cactus dies
slowly in the shuttered furniture
store, behind the sign sharing
appreciation with customers
served since 1942. I trudge up
the sidewalk by it Monday
through Friday to catch my train. I wonder
how its parched flesh feels on the days
rain runs in lines down the nearby window,
how quickly its roots quiver in the shade
cast by the stained kraft paper curtaining
the sun. One day, after a holiday break,
I see its maroon container stacked atop
the other two inhabitants I never cared
about. As I prance through the open door
into the new cafe—any whispers of “sorry,
goodbye friend” bin themselves neatly
into the black bags sitting plump by the curb.
Blair Martin grew up on a small farm in Lancaster County, PA. They received their PhD in Clinical Psychology from Bowling Green State University and teach at Joliet Junior College. Their work has appeared in/is forthcoming in Anti-Heroin Chic, New Feathers Anthology and Pictura Journal.
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