Fifteen
and the memory

She locked herself
in the bathroom
refusing
to open the door

I was summoned, the authority
exasperated with hands in the air
“talk to her, will you”

“Go away! I want to kill myself.”

I could do nothing
but bare witness
to the moment that later,
we pretended hadn’t occurred

the next day
normalcy returned

and I rubbed my temple
where it had burned.