sally burnette 

sally burnette is the author of two chapbooks: laughing plastic (Broken Sleep Books) and Special Ultimate: Baby's Story: a Documentary (Ghost City Press). They grew up in North Carolina but now live in Boston. They read flash fiction for Split Lip Magazine. 

"trash"
for M

you moved your shit in
with a black trash bag

a nurse plopped it by my bed & i
fucked up on klonopin

wanted to get up but couldn’t
or could get up & did

but didn’t want to
didn’t want to meet

the newest intruder
another person to lose later

to hide from
or betray

& i noticed on top
of the pile in the bag was

a photo of your family
wearing matching outfits

carmine collared shirts i think
i think i told you i had

family in athens too
atlanta actually

close enough
or maybe i just told you

in my head
i wanted that connection

even for a second
even if it was a lie

i still think about the trash bag
bulky with the things you were

allowed to keep the
soft razorless things

a glassless bottle
inspected letters

name-brand tampons
scraps of your life before

before you went away