The Keepsake

The flannel Jess 

Was wearing 

Was becoming 

Unraveled 

As the wind 

Kicked up

Around her...

...It began to dance,

And slip away

From her...

...She grasped 

At it

In a half-hearted

Way,

But it fell away

From her fingers,

And began it's

Mad tumble

Down the beach...

...It seemed as though 

The shirt was

Retracing her 

Very steps

That she had 

Previously made only

Hours before...

Jess reached in

Vain for the

Keepsake

That had been

A gift from 

The man that 

Had failed to 

Leave her mind

For three straight

Years now...

...She then let her

Arm drop 

Like a 

Dead branch

As she began to

Question 

This age old 

Obsession that

She had for her

Former lover...

...Jeff had a grip

On her life 

That was so 

Palpable

That she could 

Taste it on 

The tip of her 

Tongue...

Suddenly the day

Became even 

Colder,

Yet Jess felt a

Trickle of sweat

Slide down her

Left temple...

...Suddenly, she was

Transported 

To a dentist office,

With two white men,

And one

Latina woman

Wearing blue 

Surgical masks,

As they dipped their

Sickle probes,

And tongue retractors

Into her mouth...

...Jess recoiled, and 

Tried to back away

From what was

Happening,

But she had one

Of those heavy 

Bibs on.

She started to recall

That she had been

Here all along...

...It must have been

Only a dream,

Her drifting through

A melancholic moment

On the beach...

...She remembered Jeff,

And the flannel

Keepsake

Just as the drill 

Penetrated one of her

Cavities...

...An involuntary tear

Developed at 

The corner of her

Eye,

As she tried to relax,

And wait for her 

Appointment to 

Draw to a close...

©

2017

Bunny Villaire