Before

By Jessica Barlevi

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            Before we became another docket number. Before we rose, sworn under oath, before the judge in her judgey robes. Before the man in tired blue jeans wept sitting on the concrete courthouse steps, in his hand, the butt of a lit cigarette, the air awash in apple blossoms.  

            Before you left me by the fountain at the Spanish Steps, my brain a funeral in the tourist breath, off to find yourself an hour of mistress. Before the therapist said, Are you hearing what he is saying? 

                                                                                                  Before the edges began to lift.  

            Before I could see drywall, the crackling and bubbling of paint, the distinction between stone and plaster. Before the dam broke. Before the trunk you carried all those years unhinged, a thousand crows flying from your throat. Before I was alone.  

            Before the coal-colored waters came frothing forth to carry me home. Before that. Before that, you held me. 

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Jessica Barlevi is an emerging poet, who recently completed her first manuscript. She holds an MA in Liberal Studies from Dartmouth College and an MS in Accounting from the University of New Hampshire. Her poetry has appeared in Rattle, -ette Review, The Tusculum Review, and The American Journal of Poetry. Originally from Los Angeles, Jessica now resides in New Hampshire.

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