Written via a typewriter, please see the ALT text below this:
ALT Text: “Fine”
i text you
‘i’m a little emotionally delicate this week’
when what i really want to say is that
my brain is a magician
turning tricks i don’t understand
i try to catch the moment
the slip in sleight of hand
the mark on the ace of spades
that will give the game away
and cause the illusion to fade
to crumble, turn to dust and
bring me back to where i need to be
rooted in rational thought and reality
but all that is pulled from my sleeve is
handkerchief
after
handkerchief
after
handkerchief
after handkerchief
each one, a hypothetical
what if? what if? what if?
and i’m tangled in the maelstrom
desperate for a lifeline
but this is also a kind of magic
as before, if you’d have asked me,
i’d have just said
‘fine’
ALT Text for Bio:
Betty Powdrill (she/her) writes poems with honesty and heart. Her work captures fleeting moments, deep-seated memories, and the quiet spaces in between that often go unnoticed. She drafts in pencil, messy and urgent, then presses her words into permanence on her vintage typewriter. At her side is Dot the cat, dozing long after the coffee has grown cold.
Instagram: @betty.p.poetry