"Grief Flow" by Emma Sheinbaum

I feel a grief for time taken I feel a grief for time torn I feel a grief that isn’t mine I feel a grief for another body in my body I watch The Chronology of Water knowing I will feel grief, and I do I watch it while I’m sick, mucus stuck in my throat, blood in my nostril, air trapped and hard to reach I watch The Chronology of Water with the book in my bag in my lap I feel a grief that needs art I feel a grief that bleeds art I feel a grief that runs red, bitten, the director said her favorite color is bitten I feel a grief that rivers I feel a grief that needs art I need art I need art Grief needs art Grief needs art I’m crying inside, the cry is a bubble in my lung, beating I want to cry on the outside but my body isn’t I want to cry but the pill I’m on makes it hard to I used to cry when I didn’t want to which is why I wanted the pill I used to bleed more than I was supposed to which is why I wanted the pill I used to bleed for two weeks and through every pad every hour I used to say the bleedpain feels like sharkteeth eating its way out of me The last time I had bleedpain my lover ate it out of me I used to feel the bleedpain for the week before I bled I used to feel the bleedpain for the week after I bled I wanted the pill to make the bleeding slow I wanted the pill to make the bleedpain stop I wanted the bleeding to stop I wanted the bleeding to stop I didn’t have enough room for it I never had enough pads to absorb it I don't have enough room for it I wanted the bleedpain to stop I didn’t have enough time for it I don’t have enough time for it I didn’t have enough time for it I don’t have enough time for it I didn’t have enough sick time for how much time I felt sick I didn’t have enough sick time for how much time I bled I didn’t have enough sick time for how much I bled I don’t have enough time for how much time I feel sick I don’t have enough time for how much time I feel sick so I call a doctor to call an office and the office calls me and asks if I really need what the doctor says I need and I ask the office how much more do they need how much more pain do they need how much more pain do they need how much more pain do they need to give me the time I need to be in pain I don’t want to look at the news because the news is about people in pain I don’t want to look at the news because the news is about people in pain I look at the news because the news is about people in pain I look at the news because the news is about people in pain I look at the news at the people being killed I look at the news because where else am I supposed to look I look at the news because how else am I supposed to see I want to scream so I write I want to riot so I write I want to break so I write I want to burrow so I write I want to grieve so I write I want to stop so I write I want to build so I write I want to so I write I want to I write I want so I write ————————————– Emma Sheinbaum called us from Brooklyn, NY. voicemailpoems.org/submit/ facebook.com/voicemailpoems x.com/voicemailpoems bsky.app/profile/voicemailpoems.bsky.social instagram.com/voicemailpoems