today i chopped and hacked at branches
i squeezed them between hedge clippers until my hands locked up
and only when they hurt so much that i couldn’t feel them anymore
did i start snapping the twigs apart with my fingers instead
even though they scratched shallow ditches across my skin
and the pad of my thumb bruised and throbbed
but i pretended knew that this work was my way out
and continued twisting and beating and
breaking them apart
and prayed that my hands would be battered enough
that the ache could be justified, once i was done
throwing the brown and dead masses of leaves into the garbage can.
Fé 