on the seventh day, nothing bad came

by Madeline Blair

very quietly say: i am spinning

and no one can stop me. dizzy invitations

to staple yourself to the bed in remission

just waiting for 2 no 7 days until the tachycardic

tremble ceases, third prescription of a no-refill, see

your cerebrum is quite serious it means business

it gets down right down to the heart

of the matter as your field of vision most soft

paints your blood on the page you should

erase it.

erase it.

erase it.

erase it.

erase it.

erase it.

‍ ‍erase it.

did you check the numbers

on the label no the other side

do you remember what day it is

you can’t see the germs, darling,

but they might be dancing

for you. the constant itch

in your leg doesn’t shake i promise

it all doesn’t matter—but it does,

if you don’t finish that off quick

pay no mind to your constant

evasion no bad will come

if you are breathing here with me.

if you breathe in. and then out

through the gap in your lips you breathe in.

and you hold it. and you hold it

Photo of Madeline Blair

BIO: Madeline Blair is a poet, editor, and award-winning filmmaker from Chicago, IL, with a BA in Creative Writing from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She is the founding editor-in-chief of Sabr Tooth Tiger Magazine. Her poems appear or are forthcoming in Okay Donkey, BULLSHIT LIT, Burial Magazine, Michigan City Review of Books, Luna Luna Magazine, Ekphrasis Magazine, and more. She was once quoted in The New York Times on her passion for clean air.