she only stopped crying
for a few seconds at a time
she could only take a few steps
before her knees
would give out under her
in the stairwell
again in the hallway
on the second floor
across from his door
she sank in hysterical sobs
I asked her what was wrong
but she couldn't answer me
I told her it would be all right
but she couldn't hear me
I sat for three hours
in the hallway
on the second floor
across from his door
and calmly stroked her head -
bald in patches
from where she had pulled out
fistfuls of hair
when I thought
she couldn't cry anymore
I dragged her
like a rag doll
through the snow
back to our room
put her in bed
and after she cried herself to sleep
I did the same
Euphemism Campus Box 5555 Illinois State University Normal, IL 61790