She never asks,
afraid to explore the depths
of the deluge,
the town flooded
to keep her out.
But she wonders
what streets ran through
your heart, what elm-
shaded paths
she might have explored,
how the home fires
scented the air
on chilly evenings.
All she knows
is that she drowned there
on your orders
before she touched bottom.

Caitlin Johnson is the Managing Editor of CAIRN: The St. Andrews Review. She holds a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Lesley University. Her work has appeared in All Things Girl, Boston Poetry Magazine, Charlotte Viewpoint, Foliate Oak, Fortunates, Gravity Hill, Infinite Press Literary Journal, Pembroke Magazine, and What the Fiction.