Red Light by Nicole Tallman

Good things aren’t meant to be alone, darling.

Red Light

by Nicole Tallman

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In the middle of France, there’s a desert. 
It’s not real, but there’s sand in your head. 
Now imagine the most pain you could possibly
feel. What color is it: is it blood or is it rust red? 
Maybe you can’t smell it but trust me. Black blood
billows from the mouths of the dead. Before you
pass out, take the lake to the tea tree. Now wrap 
your sad self around its sweet head. Good things 
aren’t meant to be alone, darling. No matter how much
you seek silence, the elegy you wrote must be read.