The word 'suddenly' doesn't begin to describe how quickly it happened. 
I jumped. I started. "It's no wonder," she said. 

But it was over before it began. A stir at the window. 
My heart through my chest. The wind stilled. 
Such a moment is beyond the boundaries. 

The mirror was the most formidable thing in the room. 
Carved edges. Old. But propped up behind my books in piles. 
I could barely recognise myself in it. 

It took all my strength to keep my eyes off of her, 
away from the soft event of her horizon. 
It would have been easier if I weren't stoned. 

I have within me the spirit of a slain man. 
My steps have been haunted from birth. 

For O'Sullivan, Frazer and Berne.

First published here.