by SaraThicker Than Blood

Thicker Than Blood

I am not a fish and he is not a bear but is there a difference when it comes to keeping a door shut

I am not sheltered like a citadel guarded by light I heel, hushed under the callused thumb where words were spoken through teeth,

I cannot sigh with palliative mind I will recoil when you look at me, because I toil as he looks at me, recollecting the spit falling from his tongue

I am not like you my mind was not built to believe your intentions lie in letting me love myself

past the bathroom door, strung beneath the chair, I promise, when I stay it means more than that.

Sara Seaman (’16)

44 Pillars of Salt

Recovery

Cairo Dwek (’16)

Pillars of Salt 45

Inside the Bus Station the radio is crooning a Nina Simone song and I can’t help but close my eyes, if only for a moment. The girl behind the counter is dressed in cornflower blue, and I can hear the streetcar rumbling up the street. I wonder what you’d do if you were here with me, in this bus station with Nina putting a spell on me and the fan buzzing in my ear. I wonder if you’d sit next to me or walk out the door, past the fan and the girl and the rumbling streetcar. I wonder if I’d walk after you or wait too long and you’d disappear again. I hear the bus rumble to a stop outside. Everyone’s up and the spell is broken. I open my eyes and stand as well. I have to see you, you know. There’s something I’ve been needing to tell you, but I’m not sure what it is.

Lina Jegeus (’17) Poet Laureate

46 Pillars of Salt