Tia Paul-Louis

Out of Reach, Out of Touch Tia Paul-Louis

From a clavier harmonizing Chopin and Schubert I rose –

lifted like a beam in the sky till the outrageous waves of the Pacific swallowed me and silence became a wobbly gaze.

I’ve not heard anything for days.

I can’t tell if I’m sitting or lying down as I become less sober, yet, more conscious, with my lips pressed against a shadow with no form: a shadow I sense will never leave me

like the others did. The others. The beings I’m afraid to call human. The ones who vowed rescue but set traps and fire. They won’t come anymore.

Born in the Caribbean and raised in the U.S., Tia Paul-Louis began writing songs at age 11, then experimented with poetry during high school. She earned a BA in English/Creative Writing from the University of South Florida along with a M.F.A in Creative Writing from National University in California. Her works have appeared in literary magazines such as The Voices Project, Ethos Literary Journal, and Rabbit Catastrophe Review. Some of her favorite authors and poets include Langston Hughes, Emily Dickinson, Maya Angelou and Edgar Allan Poe. Apart from writing, Paul-Louis enjoys music, photography, acting and cooking, though she mostly finds herself and others through poetry.