The body cannot forget.
Shoulders slump to protect.
What’s left to regret?

Rolls of flesh beset
her bones. Armor to deflect.
The body cannot forget.

The toxins leach in sweat.
Pills leave lips spit-flecked.
What’s left to regret?

Each touch tallies against a debt.
Her skin numbs with neglect.
The body cannot forget.

Fingers stick to a cigarette,
yellow chemical and man intersect.
What’s left to regret?

To medicate hides the threat
of the memory a body can collect.
The body cannot forget
what’s left to regret

– Cara Schiff