"Gone" by Amy-Jean Muller

I held your hand when the Rigor mortis set in You were firm with me that day And my heart was soft and malleable As it slipped through your fingers like Sand

Your bones felt like they were trying to escape When your mouth pulled back over your teeth Perhaps a smile Perhaps to laugh at me Like eyes rolling in a skull at something silly I’d said Again Why do I do that? But words are pointless now Just like hearing

them Because nothing said is nothing

gained Or ventured perhaps Or ever

at least for you Because I walk away now Because it’s done

Amy-Jean Muller is an artist, writer, and poet from South Africa who lives and works in London. Both her art and writing explore culture, memory, mental health, identity, femininity, and sexuality. She has worked as an indie poetry EIC for Outcast Press, with regular contributions to Versification and The Daily Drunk. Her debut poetry collection, Baptism by Fire, was released in January 2021. The work is beautifully introduced by Stoya, Pornographer and author of Philosophy, Pussycats, & Porn who noted, ‘An angry woman remains a political act, and is sometimes a creative one as well. Rage, here, is transcended into art…” Muller is currently completing her first novel and a second poetry collection slated for release in 2024. | amyjeanmuller.com | Twitter: @muller_aj