retention

all night
she was pouring the cold, viscous matter
into my skull
slowly fillig it up
like a cauldron
until my head was full.
for a moment my head remained
balanaced on my neck,
precariously tilting forward, then backwards
then left to right

finally my head
tipped over,
spilling its contents
down my chin and onto my bare chest
and all over the paper.
the liquid rests
in a still, silvery puddle

by Vladimir Bernstein
10th Grade, ‘Iolani School