My cousin says she hates the way half and half leaves a greasy coating on the inside of her mouth, lacquering her palate She reaches in a plum fingernail to scrape it off I drink my coffee with skim milk The only thickness on my tongue is guilt and I have tried scraping Brushing and …

Those few final seconds before crash squeal hiss of metal plates sliding and the dull thump that meant the warm wet in my mouth was blood I caught my own gaze in the mirror