A Frame by Melissa L. Amstutz

Body position as Rorschach test. Arms wide, Jesus on the cross—one leg stretched, one tucked, Jesus on the cross—elbows in—out—mimicking your lungs now and you can believe instead you’re a true jellyfish. You repeat with your mind’s mouth, “I am willing to let go” except you keep messing up. What are you willing to do? Cede control. The same but with a better ring to it. The man says you’re in a cabin, all tucked in, he promised sleep hypnosis in minutes and all you get is another sad you in another sad bed. But you both lie so still, you both release from motion one muscle at a time until neither of you move at all—body position as Rorschach test. 

Miscarriage. Little unborn chemical limbs. Two feet, two hands, three times fast. You sync up to their dead rhythm. You forget to breathe, and then it’s on purpose. The sting of it. The push and pull. Propulsion. The gasping.

Melissa L. Amstutz is a writer and musician. She received her MFA from NYU. Her work has appeared in Tin House online and Smartish Pace, and was included in The Wigleaf Top 50 Very Short Fictions of 2019. Her music videos have been featured on Interview, Nylon, and Bust.