I had to get away
though I knew
you wanted me to stay
You don't know how
the jangle of your keys
makes me flinch
Or the clang of your heels
heavy like a stone bell's toll
My tongue freezes
at the tip of a hello
And I dream of becoming
the shrinking dot
of a raven in the sky
Jackie Chou is a poet from Southern California. Her poems have recently appeared in Lee Herrick's Our California Project. She is the author of two collections of poetry, The Sorceress and Finding My Heart in Love and Loss (Cyberwit Press).