i used to have a recurring dream. it recurred.
i would pass out and wake up on the subway as
an older black woman
always wearing polyester and a downturned expression, an afro with blurred edges
what happened was
we had switched bodies while i passed out.
i still had my education in my head, but she had my diplomas
i had clothes and friends but she had my closet and their phone numbers
i think there were three or four kids waiting for me back at my new rundown apartment
i was trapped and i knew i couldn't ever have my life again.
i think i was a grocery worker. something that would numb your mind like arctic saltwater
it was terrifying
i feel like i'm using a lot of 'i's here and also that i'm waking up in someone's body
there is very little polyester involved, and there's no public transportation here