a swallowed cough

for the sake of palpable fear

the constellation of collective angst

rides in great streams of words

hurled online

what are we without

where would all of our words go

ties that bind skin till it blisters

or tugs heartstrings into

fashionable bows

or swirls of swallowed coughs

sprinting across the night sky

forming great wings

to carry it all away

By Jeni Alden St. Laurent

Nashua