DANA FOLEY
Chamomile tea
Once I saw my own reflection in a cup of
chamomile tea
and wondered
why it was less painful to see myself
distorted through steam
Liquid flooded my mouth and I tasted
every grain of salt in the ocean saw
every star lighting the back of my eyes felt
every blade of grass pressed to the soles of
my feet
And the tea on my lips said:
Before you existed
I waited billions of years to be here
just for you
Wrapping myself tightly in my own arms
my fingers became dust
my eyes pebbles
eroding in a stream
My blood
poured
through fissures in the earth
To settle here
in this cup
And paint my ghost in vapour
Dana Foley is an avid writer, reader, and cupcake-eater from Ottawa, Ontario. She is currently working on finishing her English degree from Carleton University. Lately, her writing tends to focus on female and adolescent perspectives. Her short stories and poems have been published in The F-Word, Montreal Writes, Blank Spaces Magazine, and others. You can find Dana on Instagram at @dana.foley.
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