Teaser from Light Sister, Dark Sister

As promised, here is a teaser from my upcoming novel in verse, LIGHT SISTER, DARK SISTER.  Enjoy!

Bianca:

Have you ever heard

of a phantom limb?

When a person loses

an arm, or a leg,

sometimes she feels

it’s still there.

Mostly, she feels like it

hurts—confused neurons

sending messages of pain

along pathways that no longer

exist.

Well, all my limbs are attached,

at least for now,

but sometimes I feel

there’s a whole phantom body,

once joined to mine, now

severed,

but still following me,

invisible—

boneless, jointless, weightless—

and when that body hurts,

my own neurons fire

with pain.

Scarlett:

Sometimes I feel

like a phantom.

I pinch my arm

and my fingers clutch air;

I dig my nails in my flesh,

but I feel no pain.

I look in the mirror

and I watch myself

vanishing

blurring around the edges,

lips and eyes dissolving

till I can’t see

or speak.

So I bring my edges back,

define myself

with kohl-rimmed eyes,

bruise-purple lips,

hair the blue-black

of a raven’s wing.