She’ll take you to the drive through if you want
to get that milkshake you said that they sell.
But you’ll forget to drink it ‘cause you can’t

Get it down. You’re sick- nauseous from the smell
of you draped over porcelain all day.
A self-inflicted-ego-death- type ill ...

Swimmer by Aidan Meachem
 
Emblazoned in my consciousness,
the image of your face
contorted into an expression of I don’t know what in that Final moment ...

Cassie Long, “Atropos”
Aidan Meachem, “Swimmer”
Sara Gougeon, “Ojala”
Haley Griffin, “Go to Therapy”
Simon Hubbard, “Drain”
AL Riordan, “Tea”
Riley Goldstein, “Shelter in Place”
Delaney Parker, “Femme Fatale”
Olivia Rodriguez, “Meeting You”

A bottomless whir creeping through the walls
Stationed accordingly
Chipping away at the instance, most elusive of my attempts to focus, and realize its potential
To collapse in delirium, incapable of sustaining such heavy bandwidth
To be spinning through tunnels
Unaware of such disturbing fissures
channeling shapely, and more over
through an infinite atmosphere ...

When fires flicker I will watch the light,
Letting air and ashes waver between.
And when I look at paintings in their scenes,
I’ll stand behind the crowd and wait in line.

When stars start to freckle the sky at night,
I won’t try to reach for them; I can see.
And when wild horses are running free,
I’ll stand still. The magic is in the sight ...

Elise Legendre read these 3 poems, an Italian Sonnet and an English Sonnet, and Sapphic Stanzas, at the Boston Intercollegiate Poetry Festival.