Book Titles Pat Phillips West



Pat Phillips West Excerpt from KotaPress Poetry Anthology Volume 3, 2003 Inhale—Exhale Holidays suck the breath out of you— leave you unable to swallow food at birthdays drink an anniversary toast, or celebrate the moment— you yearn for a beer and hot dog at the ball park TV and popcorn, lost wonders of the every day. Unrelenting—a whiff of cologne reminds you of the scent tucked in the closet undelivered. Someone’s chatter about a trip revives unwelcome memories— plans interrupted excursions un-taken. Reality knocks—each morning you hesitate delay your departure. Stand at the door as if you had a choice not to open it. A choice not to let reality in. Vivid non-stop memories play like old movies— a sunshine-filled day at the beach. You lie on the blanket his breath against your ear— a hike up the cliff his hand grasps yours helps you up holds you solid-safe. In private where no one hears you scream why allow the wild person within to rant demand answers— now. Vulnerable you stand naked before the mirror look for signs of life. Lean forward look for his eyes covering your skin. That was then— now empty eyes stare back at you. Impossible—you think, shake your head force yourself to comprehend the fact—no longer can you say "Remember when?" Not a tragedy—your aunt’s words her attempt to help. Still you wrestle to grasp her theory—a tragedy would be never to have had him. Go—you remind yourself—go on even when your lungs feel sucked empty of air from the effort of surviving. Don’t forget to breathe. Inhale- Exhale accepted for publication in All Things Girl, August 2002 Again published in Poetictricity, spring 2002; KotaPress, June 2002 . Author Bio Pat Phillips West is a former hospital administrator who lives and writes in northern Nevada. Besides poetry she creates and distributes a unique card line, In Other Words, for those times when, "Get well quick," just isn’t enough, or you don’t know what to say. Her work has appeared in an anthology, Labyrinth: Poems and Prose, as well as FZQ Poetry, Poetictricity, KotaPress, and All Things Girl.