Our Labored Breaths

For Lisa

No one understands my trauma
like you do, the way it carves
an immeasurable piece of flesh
from places well hidden.
It is the perfect murderer, charming
and quick.

The silence in our friendship
speaks volumes to the fact
we know how little fixing
each other fills us. It’s the
need to exist in the company
of another.

This is the true art of letting go
from the years of abuse
disguised as self-sabotage.
It is the walk in the woods,
our labored breaths mixing
with pine and the sound of creeks
run dry.

Aleathia Drehmer

Aleathia Drehmer was the one time editor of Durable Goods and In Between Altered States, co-editor of Full of Crow and Zygote in My Coffee, and art editor of Regardless of Authority. Her work has been published in print and online for poetry, fiction, and photography. Her most recent work can be seen in Heroin Love SongsFragmented LinesPoetica Review, and Big Windows Review. She is currently writing novels and poetry. You can visit her author page at www.aleathiadrehmer.com