transience

i looked up and saw the edge of the universe by ethan manning

Heads up, heads up. 

A penny flipped for fortune, 
the weight of a wish betters copper, 
buckling to pressure from the eyes of a folly man. 

Tell the tales. 

No better do murky waters 
swallow a poor man's color, 
barter the mind for a quick buck, 
and coat the sinner’s hand. 

But who’s to say it hit the bottom? 

Maybe it sways, 
wrapped in tides, 
a dream postponed to kill a romantic. 
Maybe it ceases, 
torn to atoms, 
a sign to try your luck again. 
Or maybe it just is, 
present in its absence, 
and that is enough to walk away. 

Take a breath. 

I looked down and saw the depths of nothingness. 

I swam to the bottom, looked up, and saw the edge of the universe.

a february like this by jessica yu

This room is not a castle 
And we cannot stay forever
They’re trying to kick us out 
Saying we’re behind on rent

Which I tried to pay with daydreams
My most precious of things

But apparently, you cannot afford time
With unpublished fantasies 

It stopped snowing outside
Still, I refuse to leave
The landlord threatens me
And my lover asks me why
She says we have coats and gloves
And each other

I don’t tell her that it’s not enough

How do I know?
I just do
That dark bitter taste
Won’t leave my tongue
Whenever the city’s dry cold
Seeps in through the windows

Even through the glass
I can hear the wind whistling in that
Shrill, sneering tone
Waiting for my, her, our destruction 

As the days pass, I see her
Looking out the window and 
Oh, my mind is losing to itself
New York is still beautiful in her eyes
And I wish to keep it that way, so I say
We have all we need in this bed, stay.

She nods but I feel that her mind has wandered
Far outside of this room, 
On streets she dreams of
As shiny and new

Her body is tethered still
But oh no, no it won’t last much longer

I can’t keep drowning our skin in the fickle
Naivety of white, crisp sheets

We’re in our last moments now
Before her skin is bitten by the city
Before she blames me for the 
sober disappointment 
before I can bargain with love and
refuse reality no more

I know what I already know

My daydreams were not made
To withstand the elements

Especially not in a February like this

Oh, why did I bring her here?
Oh, God
oh god, I think I should send her back