Layla Lenhardt, “We Were Only Children

We Were Only Children

Layla Lenhardt

The night of the meteor shower was frigid like a nun and we hiked all around campus to see it. You were all bones and sharpness and I was all arms and heart, pulsing like a dog’s tongue. You laid beside me on the dead earth, in our frozen empire while the sky fluttered apart above us. I had a button from your black peacoat in the left pocket of my white peacoat and I ran my fingers over its smooth roundness. I wanted to keep this little part of you a secret, hidden with me forever. You were humming Sufjan and in your eyes, I believed I could see the beestings and bell flowers of my childhood. Later, I cut your hair in your sister’s yellow kitchen. I held the safety scissors with motherly care, and for the first time, I loved that place, though I knew you would leave me alone in it.

Standing in the Rain

Xavier Jones

Standing in the rain For whom I do not know I cannot say how long I’ll be standing in the rain

Standing in the rain Alone braving the cold Longing to be warm again To stop standing in the rain

Standing in the rain No longer will I move I’ll simply wait to be found Out here standing in the rain

Standing in the rain The storm I do not fear For it best hides my silent tears When I’m standing in the rain

Standing in the rain I hope I’m not too late Lest my hope just go to waste By my standing in the rain

Summer Storm

Xavier Jones

Strike me with your lightning And shake me with your thunder It is well that I topple from trembling That I may tumble from down in this torrent As the rain races to rescue a land in a drought Envelop me, summer rain Let it all begin With your kiss