Health and Safety

by Claudia Wysocky

Image credit: Tim Marshall on Unsplash

There have been plenty of times when I had to fight for my life.

Sometimes it was for my "health and safety",

sometimes for happiness.

I fought for what I could not bear to lose,

but I lost all the same. I can still recall the taste of all

those defeats, as bitter as unripe plums.

I remember the time that I thought I would die of thirst.

I wasn’t even sure what dying meant, but I was so, so thirsty.

I remember the blood that ran down my wrist,

like the blood that runs down the wrist

of a girl who has cut herself with a razor blade

and stares at her own reflection in the mirror.

Perhaps that is why I am as I am:

I have seen my death; I have seen it, and it was nothing.

***

Claudia Wysocky

Claudia Wysocky, a Polish writer and poet based in New York, is known for her diverse literary creations, including fiction and poetry. Her poems, such as "Stargazing Love" and "Heaven and Hell," reflect her ability to capture the beauty of life through rich descriptions. Besides poetry, she authored "All Up in Smoke," published by Anxiety Press. With over five years of writing experience, Claudia's work has been featured in local newspapers, magazines, and even literary journals like WordCityLit and Lothlorien Poetry Journal. Her writing is powered by her belief in art's potential to inspire positive change. Claudia also shares her personal journey and love for writing on her own blog, and she expresses her literary talent as an immigrant raised in post-communism Poland.