The Last Straw

Memories

Hard places to go to

Great diction

"The past becomes present.....

the maw of hell....

Absence becomes presence."

I liked the world play of present and presence and how they're tied together phonetically, but the real knot is that killer middle line.

I hit the 4 button by mistake; my apologies if ratings matter to you; definitely a 5 IMO.

PS

I forgot. I didn't think the last line was necessary, Dawn. It seemed to me pretty obvious the devastation, and the image suggested by "floundering" ran up against this image I had of you in a state of fugue, I.e., numb, motionless.

Nonetheless, great poem.