It happened
on the way back from work,
I tripped
and
fell
fat folders and half-corrected exams
scattered on the gray concrete
and eyes fall upon me like rain
needles, sharp like stifled screams,
pricked my heart
and blood did pool into my raw palms
and fog did fill my eyes
but there!
Beckoning from the midst of the fanged abyss,
a glint of gold:
A key.
Deftly engraved on the shaft-
in ethereal ornate lettering-
were the words
TAKE ME AND RUN
and so I did
Days bled into nights
and spanned across the heaving sky
like the tips of an Archangel’s wings
still I ran
faster than the rebuking lips of my dwindling lungs
when
like a forgotten apology,
a chalk-lined door blossomed
from the faint scars on my fingertips
blessed key kissed lock
the sweet squeak of swinging hinges
I’m home,
I whispered
Their smiles were forgiving
and genuine.