i knew it would take years to mourn the loss of you

by Sarah Karowski

please forgive my

lack of grace as i

pick myself a-

part — cell by

cell. & as i scrub my-

self of you;

skin raw

with pulsing blood-

rush —

& i still catch

your smell on my

shoulders; feel

your warts under

my thumb. how i believed

in cliche

because i felt them all

on your tongue. our eyes;

puzzle pieces. legs

entangled

in grapevine. the ache

in my chest soothed

by your lips as they

gingerly brush

against my own —

my equilibrium

is offset. i still think of you

as mine.

---

Sarah Karowski (she/her) is a poet and educator. Her debut chapbook, Americana Folktale (2024), was the winner of the Northwest Florida Poets Write Now 2024 Poetry Chapbook Contest. Sarah holds an MFA from the Mississippi University for Women and teaches English at Tallahassee State College. Her work has been featured in magazines like the Passionfruit Review, Macrame Literary, the Dewdrop, and the Elevation Review, as well as anthologies with Five South, Moonstone Arts Center, and Quillkeepers. Sarah currently lives in Tallahassee, Florida, with her found family and two dogs.