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And then, I went to London.

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I lived for an unhappy
year with a woman intent

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on doing herself harm.

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Two poems about that.

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"Escapology"

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"A shallow cut lets
the blood bead.

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And you could charm
red bracelets,

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coax necklaces from nowhere.

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You stashed blades like
savings, pulled them out

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with a flourish and
a fan of silver.

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Soon, it was ribbons
from the wrist,

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and sawing yourself in two,
always trying to disappear.

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Then the finale--
sedatives, restraints,

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the escape-proof box, and you,
lying there, a locked knife."

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"After the overdose"

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"What surprised me most?

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Coming home to an
open door, rose

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petals everywhere, the bed,
incongruous with blood;

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the paramedics satchel,
left behind in all the rush;

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or you in the hospital, the
crusted corners of your mouth,

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the gown they'd put you in.

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You never wore short sleeves,
not since you burned a name

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into your arm with cigarettes.

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Or finally, that
you weren't dead.

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That surprised me, that regret."

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