the salt that bears youth in the wound that bears truth

Celina Bagchi '24

You breathed in the chilled air,

Inhaled transparent promises

as you wondered why

no one ever seemed to

keep their word.

They don’t really care

but I do, I do.

So touched were you,

By the sadness of

empty eyes and hollow lies

that holy amber bottles couldn’t fix,

By the resignation of

dull hair and a vacant stare

no amount of soap could ever cleanse.

You’re fragile. The mind

is a breakable thing, they say.

And so I see it now, I

wish I had done it all differently,

That I could take it back

that we never grew apart

And if I had only done better

done right by you

perhaps my outpouring of words

of meaningless letters on a page

Could be enough.

Even if I was the disease,

Rather than the cure.