Dissociation

I exist in the way a stain does:
something made physical by the wet imprint
of someone else’s thumb.

I exist as an epitaph.

I exist violently
& others have strapped my hands together
to keep me from hurting
or getting hurt.
I am calcified,
preserved in prayer.

I exist in theory
but do not try to sway the question
one way or another.
there is something beautiful
about purgatory,
the way it refused to be defined.

I exist as a sitcom rerun
with anecdotes for teeth.
my body is hollowed out
to make room
for the scripts.

I exist in the way
something does not exist
at all.

Sarah Grace Goolden is pursuing her MFA in Creative Writing at American University. She has received a BA in English Education at University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where she served as Opinion Editor for The Carolinian. Sarah Grace wants to become a high school English teacher.