Heartland Society of Women Writers

By Kaitlynn McShea

I dreamt about fascia again last night–
how its synovial hardening
and gooey hydration
is akin to the Elmer’s glue
we used in school,
pressing it on our pencil boxes
to make bookmarks,
sliding it on the pads of our fingers
to make fingerprints.

How it can be used to fix or to adhere,
how my body holds stories as much as my mind,
how as much as I try,
my pelvis will still cry when it grows darker
outside and my back will zap with the pain of
a knife sliding into my flesh;
how as much as I try,
I will never forget, and my body won’t
either, and maybe we’re not meant to,
so I’ll dream about it and it’ll dream about
me, and together we’ll piece my muscles and
bones and mind together, staying warm through
the night.