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Unfinished Exit

by Claudia Wysocky


I keep thinking 

about the time in high school 

when you drew 

me 

a map of the city, 

I still have it somewhere. 

It was so easy 

to get lost 

in a place where all the trees 

look the same. 

And now 

every time I see 

a missing person's poster 

stapled to a pole, 

all I can think is 

that could have been me

Missing, 

disappeared. 

But there are no 

posters for people 

who just never came back 

from vacation, from college, 

from life. 

You haven't killed yourself 

because you'd have to commit to a 

single exit. 

What you wouldn't give to be your cousin Catherine, 

who you watched 

twice in one weekend get strangled nude 

in a bathtub onstage 

by the actor who once 

filled your mouth with quarters at 

your mother's funeral. 

The curtains closed and opened again. 

We applauded until 

our hands were sore.

 

But you couldn't shake the image of 

her lifeless body, 

the way she hung there like a 

marionette with cut strings. 

And now every time you try to write a poem, 

it feels like a

eulogy. 

A desperate attempt to 

capture something that's already 

gone. 

But maybe that's why we keep writing, 

keep searching for 

the right words, 

because in this world where everything is 

temporary, 

poetry is our only chance at 

immortality. 

So even though you haven't 

found the perfect ending yet, 

you keep writing. 

For Catherine, for yourself, for all the lost 

souls 

who never got their own 

missing person's poster. 

Because as long as there are words on a page, 

there is still hope for an unfinished exit to

find its proper 

ending.


 

Claudia Wysocky, a Polish writer and poet based in New York, is known for her diverse literary creations, including fiction and poetry. Her poems, such as "Stargazing Love" and "Heaven and Hell," reflect her ability to capture the beauty of life through rich descriptions. Besides poetry, she authored "All Up in Smoke," published by "Anxiety Press." With over five years of writing experience, Claudia's work has been featured in local newspapers, magazines, and even literary journals like WordCityLit and Lothlorien Poetry Journal. Her writing is powered by her belief in art's potential to inspire positive change. Claudia also shares her personal journey and love for writing on her own blog, and she expresses her literary talent as an immigrant raised in post-communism Poland.

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