Quicklime
A tanker is carrying quicklime and hits a lamppost in Ashfield
at 19:00. You are watching TV in Ashfield. It is 19:00.
Quicklime. Freshman biology slides off the tight-
ropes of your synapses like sand. Quicksand.
You are no longer in Ashfield. You are in a pit of limes, sinking.
You are yelling at the Golden Retriever, but she is licking herself.
You are almost completely submerged. You are terrified
that quicklime might have nothing to do with biology.
There is no Wikipedia at the bottom of this pit.
There is no wireless signal. There is no –
Sean Colletti has studied English with Creative Writing at California State University Channel Islands and the University of Birmingham. He is the editor and founder of a new poetry e-journal, The Camarillo Review. His poetry reviews have appeared in Stride.