David Burns, Period 1, 2/14/22

     “Mom isn’t home ” (T. McWhirter, 18) “again.” (J.D. Vinge, 14) “Or she’s sleeping, ” (V.M. Caldwell, 165) “or dead.” (M. Cormany, 86) “What difference does it make?” (A. Chekov, 22)  “I sit alone in my room, ” (M. Engle, 110) “not daring to make a sound.” (M. Wright, 31) “Sounds bring ” (R. Gans, 32) “comfort, and ” (K. Kolcaba, 11) “home is not a comfortable place.” (J.W. Dougherty, 63) “Sitting up in bed, I pull ” (S.R. Anderson, 82) “one of my blankets up ” (A. Sewell, 196) “around my chest ” (D. Vega, 74) “and sigh.” (E. Welsford, 13) “My bladder ” (L. Gillespie, 22) “implores me to “ (R.A. Clay, 44) “get up, but “ (H.B. Beatty, 58)  “with a practiced motion I “ (B. Whittington, 13) “rotate my hips “ (J. Nicklaus, 92) “perpendicular to the “ (A. Bernau, 18) “mattress, “ (S. Muir, 9) “dulling the pressure.“ (S. Perkins, 148) “That should buy me a few more “ (T. Hudson, 56) “precious minutes in bed.” (K. Woodward, 54) “The blanket slips “ (S. Gooch, 50) “off my shoulder, “ (C. Henry, 158) “but this time I let it go; ” (C. Robinson, 279) “I can’t be bothered.” (G. Benjamin, 41)

     “I search for the '' (R. Sommers, Unstrung Heart 28) “earbud that’s “ (P. Stokes, 108) “surely slipped out “ (E. Lustbader, 166) “during the night, and pop “ (J. Menzies, 31) “it back into “ (C.F. Meyer, 136) “its little home.” (B. Aronson, 2) “I’ll let it charge “ (J. Fluke, 309) “while I wring “ (E. Blyton, 7) “the last couple minutes “ (M.E. Singletary, 69) “of waking left.“ (J.G. Cozzens, 93) “The fan’s “ (H. Jenkins, 18) “familiar hum “ (B.A. Hoena, 11) “is no longer enough “ (F.M. Esfandiary, 10) “to occupy my mind, “ (S. Ross, 42) “so I grab my phone “ (D. Whitney, 34) “and see dozens of “ (M. Rice, 122) “frivolous “ (R.C. Cassingham, 156) “notifications.“ (B. Miser, 59) “Games I don’t play, “ (B. Seabrooke, 4) “memories that don’t matter “ (J. Picoult, 77) “anymore.“ (M. Jongman, 24) “Months old messages “ (J. Udell, 57) “I keep “ (B.E. Ellis, 31) “inveigling myself “ (J. Lasdun, 138) “I’ll respond to “ (J.E. Lloyd, 65) “clutter my screen, “ (J. Mueller, 532) “and I sigh as I “ (C. Leo, 207) “swipe past “ (J. Gardner, 17.) “them once more.“ (A. Austin, 49) “Someday I’ll get back to these “ (S. Brown, 20) “old pieces of myself.“ (R. Schreiber, 52) “Nothing important again, “ (D. Toscana, 103) “guess it’s time “ (C. Sunman, 104) “to get up now.“ (J. Van Zyle, 6)

     “I fish out the “ (A. Kwok, 121) “shirt wedged in the “ (J. McKinley, 116) “space between my mattress and the wall “ (A. Lamott, 217) “and brace myself for the cold “ (J. Pearce, 250) “and abrasive “ (R.L. McKee, 30) “fabric to take the place of the “ (G. Freyre, 164) “blanket around my torso.“ (R. Rense, 223) “It's always cold, “ (A.I. Goldfarb, 20) “because of the fan.“ (D. Meyer, 117) “I don’t know why I expected anything different.“ (S. Jump, 123) “Shuffling to the door “ (M. Williams, 34) “I listen for signs of life “ (G. Brown, 260) “on the other side: “ (A. Barnett, 210) “nothing.“ (K.C. Cole, 240) “Thank fuck.“ (I. Welsh, 42) “I’m not prepared to “ (J. Orton, 32) “form words from thoughts.“ (A. Bookner, 253) “I take a “ (A. Dayton, 13) “detour downstairs, “ (A. Trigiani, 85) “taking in the living room “ (C. Paredes, 264) “in the only way “ (M.G. Hamilton, 44) “I feel safe: “ (A.U. Reverman,6) “when no one else is here.“ (B. Bellingham, 31) “I remove the clutter “ (S. Harding, 34) “from the loveseat “ (G. Bolton, 54) “and set it on the sofa.“ (M.E. Little, 112) “The fabric here “ (L. Hammond, 26) “is stiff and cold.“ (L. Tse, 71) “It’s not long until I “ (M. Yates, 27) “move into the kitchen.“ (T. Timmons, 59)

     My stomach aches, but I “ (S. Castille, 175) “can’t bring myself to eat.“ (L. Watson, 43) “It’s not hunger “ (D. Shor, 31) “anyway, “ (S. Parkinson, 54) “something else is eating me “ (D. Matza, 340) “from the inside out - “ (J. Sutherland, 69) “or more accurately, “ (A. Koyré, 3) “has already eaten me.“ (C.M. Yamanaka, 337) “I open “ (I. Chorão, 7) “and close cabinets “ (D. Kelly, 109) “in an endless hall, “ (M, Bell, 86) “each filled with more “ (L. Linsey, 60) “nondescript bottles “ (R. Nalley, 16) “than the last, “ (J. Mostafa, 13) “none of them mine.“ (B Elizabeth, 22) “I swirl around “ (P. Dowding, 200) “on the tile floor with “ (M. Blouin, 97) “freedom, but “ (J. Paxman, 143) “the feeling doesn’t last.“ (E. McCabe, 78) “I sulk in the corner “ (M. Martone, 38) “chair of the table, “ (C. Harrison, 282) “but that too “ (A. Di Nardo, 37) “doesn’t last.“ (M. Cristofer, 124) “Just a return to “ (J. Gunstone, 117) “nothing, like always.“ (R. Wirick, 130) “Time for “ (J. Stearn, 25) “the dreaded bathroom.“ (L. Dean, 106)

     “My eyes are focused on the “ (S. Turnbull, 83) “dirty faucet “ (L. Wood, 74) “to avoid the girl in the mirror.“ (H. Bingham, 326) “I go through the motions and “ (P. Major, 75) “consciously force myself “ (J. Thacker, 25) “to brush my teeth with a “ (N. Jordahl, 147) “grating “ (R.A. Sawyer, 65) “mnemonic.“ (H. Hilton, 42) “I sigh.“ (K. Jaros, 112) “This was inevitable, wasn’t it?“ (P. Spike, 133) “Looking up, “ (B.L. Felknor, 16) “I don’t recognize her.“ (J.B. Shaw, 2) “Not for the “ (D. Boek, 197) “body she holds “ (T.L. Carus, 53) “but for her mind; “ (D. Brown, 46) “that hodge-podge “ (R. Pinget, 13) “mind of hers.“ (W.D. Howells, 47) “Not an original thought “ (M. Kennedy, 15) “of her own, “ (M. Thomas, 26) “a mindless mix “ (L.L. Mitchell, 1) “of those around her.“ (A.M. Miller, 212) “The quintessential “ (W. Bower, 20) “yes-woman, “ (F. Burleson, 112) “malleable putty “ (R. Sommers, Getting There 85) “of a person.“ (G. Englebretsen, 9) “Identityless.“ (D. Lockwood, 37) “I peel my eyes away, “ (K. Spafford-Fitz, 89) “back down to my hands.“ (D. Ives, 169)

    “I’m in bed, “ (J. Curry, 62) “shirtless again, “ (A. Ayckbourn, 16) “wrapped in the warm, “ (S.A. Horn, 30) “soft fiber “ (I. Adler, 6) “of my blanket.“ (H. Recorvits, 20) “The pieces of me, “ (C. Martin, 81) “or rather “ (C. Simon, 14) “the wholes “ (I. Newton, 124) “I’ve “ (L. Cave, 15) “leeched off of, “ (J. LaBrecque, 124) “have left more messages.“ (D. Fletcher, 118) “They’re not worth looking at “ (J. Creasey, 138) “now, they all say “ (C. Elias, 46) “the same thing anyway.“ (T. Leary, 37) “I turn over onto my stomach, “ (M. Brooks, 123) “blindly reaching “ (B. Terrell, 53) “around my back “ (K. Jaimet, 10) “to adjust the covers.“ (D.A. Taylor, 171) “I make sure that “ (T.M. Brenner, 7) “not an inch of the “ (Britannicus, 25) “thick, wool blanket “ (L. Monacelli-Johnson, 94) “my mother gave me “ (M.K. Wetterer, 19) “is touching my skin, “ (P. Friederici, 116) “that’s what my personal “ (T. Carrington, 139) “blanket is for.“ (P.O. Lewis, 15) “A barrier, protecting me.“ (Miasha, 74) “I shut my eyes “ (T. Hunt, 22) “and thoughts “ (G. Ebbs, 185) “swirl wildly “ (A. Ram, 75) “in my head.“ (N. Morgan. 1)

“Who am I?“ (E. Sirimarco, 42)

“Who ”(J.C. Lavater, 128) “am I?“ (M. Gussow, 20)

“Who am I?“ (I. Drach, 34)

“Who am ”(G. Heard, 16) “I?“ (S. Hamilton, 86)

“Who am I?“ (J. Cronin, 447)

Who am I?

Works Cited