“Holly”

By Kristina Alessa

I laid in this place
two hundred forty three days

every day a dark night
dreaming of you

The last lullaby you sang to me
was a ballad cry assuring me:

“I’m sorry, but
this is what’s best for you.”

That night, I couldn’t sleep
I kicked and tried to scream

but when your hand refused to feel me
I knew there was nothing I could do

The next day,

your anticipated warm embrace
was replaced by the grasp of cold metal blades

my neck, silently slit
your heart, broken in two

from my home, he ripped me away
lifeless on the table I laid

when you left me, you looked away
that was the first and last time I saw you

when I asked him to give me a name
he shoved me down, and called me “Medical Waste”

my biomedical crib and grave
welcomed to the world without a debut

I laid in this place
for what felt like
two hundred forty three days

every day a dark night
wishing I could still dream of you