once

when I put my arm out for support,
it's like a knife under the ribs
I can see it turn in you without my help,
grazing the heart, little drops of blood spreading inside,
reminding you through their drip drop you were so young once.
now I speak to you in sentences a child can understand,
voice raised, sugary sweet, my hands constantly around you,
waiting for you to fail, and you were so young once, you were so young.
and a long, long time ago I was only something at the edge of your vision,
when there wasn't a thing stopping all you ever wanted.

if I could drink all day

I think I would
and it's not my body that's stopping me,
it paces itself like a long distance runner,
but my mother's face,
as she sees another drunk
falling down a well piled with bodies
the imprint of her lips on their sunken faces

Kate LaDew is a graduate from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro with a
BA in Studio Art.