4 A.M.

4 a.m., ignoring science –
my mother tried to get away,
she tucked herself tight under the kitchen table
      a table is a table is a suicide note 
I tucked myself tight under the same table 20 years later, a table
      is a table is a table is a stretcher through the ICU
4 a.m., ignoring science –
I fondle the needle scars of a junkie as we count the pieces of wallpaper
that float across my face at night in the mental hospital, and their tables.

and 
now
5 a.m., ignoring science –
my mother calls me “Your Eyes are full of God”
        a phone call is a phone call is a suicide note.


About Margaret Mary Riley:
Margaret Mary Riley grew up speaking a dying language. She left college to hitch hike across the US and returned to obtain a BA in political science. She has been published in Subliminal Interiors, Corvus, and Phantom Kangaroo. She is currently trying to discern the meaning of life from an anxiety ridden cat. The results are moot.