Sarah Manguso

L

Love Letter (Clouds)

I didn’ t fall in love. I fell through it:

Came out the other side moments later, hands full of matter, waking up from the dream of a bullet tearing through the middle of my body.

I no longer understand anything for longer than a long moment, or the time it takes to receive the shot.

This kind of gravity is like falling through a cloud, forgetting it all, and then being told about it later. On the day you fell through a cloud...

It must be true. If it were not, then when did these strands of silver netting attach to my hair?