Life Support | Amanda McLeod

The fights are multiplying

Basic life tasks

getting out of bed

and other luxuries

like therapy

are flowing down 

like water in a drain

Thin fingers of exhaustion

rub my scalp, my temples

while I tell them

I don’t know if I can do this

and the notion shakes me 

like a fever, burning up

my solar plexus

because if my nerve is lost 

the rest will follow, russet leaves

snatched away on autumn’s breath

leaving skeletal remains

in a shallow grave of self abhorrence

Amanda McLeod is an author and artist based in Australia's national capital. She's the author of Heartbreak Autopsy (Animal Heart Press, 2021) and Animal Behaviour (Chaffinch Press, 2020). When she's not in lockdown, she loves being outside as much as she can, especially if there's water. Find out more at amandamcleodwrites.com, and if you still can't find her, head for the nearest river - she's probably there.