~Patrick Carolan, Class of 2024

I stood alone

In the empty casket,
Felt like a cell where
My feelings are imprisoned.

I could feel
the cold metal
On my hip.

I thought about it all.
Dani,
Mom,
Shawn,
Dad,

Shawns words,
Lingering.
Dangling over my head,
I’m chasing the explanation
Like a pig chasing a carrot.

I pulled it out

The steel scraping,
I stared.
The heater looking more
Lethal than ever,
I grabbed the top
And yanked.

Click

It went back
To place,
I rose it up 
To my forehead.

My eyes darted
Out the elevator,
Shawn was gone
And all I could think,
I will be too.