Silverfish<\/p>\n
By<\/p>\n
Jennifer Angelina Petro<\/p>\n
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I went downstairs to do laundry.<\/p>\n
A silverfish loosened from the shadows,<\/p>\n
Crawling along the edges of the floor,<\/p>\n
It\u2019s long feelers sweeping the area in front and to the side,<\/p>\n
Sensitive to any pivot of the foot.<\/p>\n
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Putting down the basket, I found myself<\/p>\n
On hands and knees following it<\/p>\n
Behind the dampened fingers of the water pipes<\/p>\n
And musty boxes of teaching supplies,<\/p>\n
To where it somehow disappeared under the wall.<\/p>\n
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Over the years silverfish have appeared in my life\u2014<\/p>\n
Sometimes dropping, like tears,<\/p>\n
From the bindings of books,<\/p>\n
Sometimes shimmering from out of nowhere<\/p>\n
Outside my door.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Whenever I see them I remember:<\/p>\n
I survived years without being seen,<\/p>\n
Only to reappear in the pages of my life<\/p>\n
Having lived off the glue that holds me together,<\/p>\n
Defying the walls built around my rightful home,<\/p>\n
And I thank them, smiling at their ability to flash<\/p>\n
In and out of sight whenever they choose.<\/p>\n
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