a soapy crystal bubble
growing cramped under
his calloused foot. He flattens
me, as I stay

put. Walking around
with a grimace he limits
my breathing space
placing a gauze pad over

my face. Leaking like a water
balloon soaking his shoes
from room to room. Flapping
my hanging skin like a

hummingbird's wings. For years
I held it all in like a rain cloud. But I
rounded sitting heavy. Wind and eddy
shed my pearl drops slow and steady.