Lateral Damage

The sky is the color of a wet sidewalk.

I was aiming for the bin with the trash bag

when the black ice caught my heel.

I hit the rusted edge of the dumpster

right where the cage of me starts to feel.

In the mirror, the skin is turning

the deep, dull purple of a bruised plum.

Every breath is a sharp reminder

of how fragile the machinery has become.