in purgatory there are only beds with blue sheets
no, the walls are white the bathroom floors, red tile, water slick.
in purgatory. you are watching. close your eyes.
there is nothing you can do. there is always something you can do.
no the walls are white, the bathroom floors red. tile water
everything moving in singular rhythm. counting.
you. do something. do.
you. are bent over, laying down. the ceiling darkening.
everything moving in singular rhythm. counting. there is
a person above you, two, five there is
bending over there is laying down. the ceiling darkening. there is
no one coming back for you there is no one coming back. you aren’t, either. Here —
there is no one coming back for you.
someone just finishing. someone just starting.
it is always morning it is always night here,
in purgatory there are only beds with blue sheets & the moon,
someone is just finishing, someone is starting
in purgatory. no. there is no one coming back.
there is nothing you can do.
Casey Zella Andrews is a high school English teacher in Boston, MA. She has a BA from Hampshire College, MAT from Simmons College, and an MA in Critical and Creative Thinking from UMass Boston. Her most recent work is published in Juked, Open Minds Quarterly, and Beech Street Review. She has never lost a push-up competition to a student.
