Bouquets

you didn’t expect the glass to break but
when it shatters, I bleed violet & sage green
glittering hues we once planned for our wedding
curled ribbons that pool on our carpet 
with lilac & vanilla & mint- aromas from 
the bouquets we selected so carefully- now
bloom from my cut, glossy in morning light
& there’s no stopping my wound from festering
periwinkle ache of you leaving that night 

when I finally stop bleeding our apartment
is a garden- intoxicating, you cannot walk 
without following into a slumber
your eyes locked on mine 
wide open as you sleep 

& when you wake
I’ll take these extraordinary 
sorrows, so that you are left
in a mundane existence
without magic 

Donations

prick my finger-
watch it bleed gold
            this is what you wanted
room draped with precious tapestries
all made from my pain
            isn’t it dazzling
but of course my blood, my gold
isn’t enough- you discover my tears
            drip diamonds & rubies
I collect the gems, the gold-
I can carry more than you ever could
            down to a store selling used clothing
and let them take my burden
            until my body is once again mine

---

Erin Jamieson (she/her) holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Miami University. Her writing has been published in over eighty literary magazines, including a Pushcart Prize nomination. She is the author of a poetry collection (Clothesline, NiftyLit, Feb 2023). Twitter: @erin_simmer & @EJAMIESEE

---

If you would like to be part of The Chamber Magazine family, follow this link to the submissions guidelines. If you like more mainstream fiction and poetry with a rural setting and addressing rural themes, you may also want to check out Rural Fiction Magazine. While you’re here, why not drop by The Chamber’s bookshop?