i want to wake up

no more walking

on my knees

first time in my life

i want to be

in a church

smelling old

oiled wood

worn red velvet

warming my cold face

***

i want to wake up

no more

sleep walking zombie

through

the subway

the park

the dinners with

friends i do not know

maybe in a

quiet place

the man with

thorns

will make more sense

than the man with

stones

-i feel etched

with poison

tattooed

with

someone else’s blood-

***

i want to

wake up

clean

***

***

About the Author:

 

Katrina Phillips has lived in Los Angeles for the last eight years, previously from Chicago. She is very happy she stopped throwing her poetry away and will be releasing her first collection this year. She is grateful for this opportunity.