Dana Knott
Miss Siddal Thinks of Leaving

The bird refuses to sing.
It mirrors my own silence.
I open the silver door
but it remains on its perch.
I could throw off the covers,
pull my body from its bed,
my legs heavy, the floor cold.
I hate to think of each icy step.

I take tiny sips from my glass
and surround myself
with a golden mist. I dream
of leaving, but I wake
in his arms. I didn’t hear
his strong steps on the stairs
or the turn of the key in the door.

*Lizzie Siddal, famously known as a Pre-Raphaelite supermodel and tortured muse/ lover of Dante Gabriel Rossetti, was a poet and artist in her own right. She tragically died of a laudanum overdose at age 32.