Sui Generis

At twenty-two
Charlotte discovers her legacy to suicide—

six on her mother’s side of the tree, including
the artist’s mother, had taken

their own lives.
Chances are, she calculates, whatever

had struck her next of kin
would strike Charlotte too—

unless she could work the curse
of Selbtsmord

into a new motif.

The C.S. who summons
salvation from paint, breaks
from her nature to save it.

— ELANA WOLFF

(Originally published Christmas, 2000.)