abalone
Alexis McDonald
she becomes the author of her solitude
able to ruminate among a broken glance
writing whimpering sonnets that amuse the neighboring wilted flowers in awe
whose ages rival that of her delicate home
which sways with the breeze of rustling autumn and catches a cold with winter’s white chill
to arise from sprinklings of pollen and rainwater
altruism seeping through the growing holes
alimony through the asylum of her breaths
cracks form at the apex of the pearl’s luster
another knocking softly along its rear side
prey hiding beneath a collapsing cover
her muscles contracting with a heavy sigh
the alkaline soil drinks the nutrients from the bitter earth
parches her amorphous body
that seeks to ornament the ears of the sea.
Lexi McDonald (she/her) is a senior English Literature and Creative Writing double major at Susquehanna University and enjoys reading, writing, teaching, and traveling. Much of her work incorporates vivid sensory imagery with trauma and topics of social justice and feminism, and these are her most rewarding pieces. She plans to go on to graduate school for creative writing and would collect degrees if she could afford it. Instead (or in addition), she intends to challenge young writers to be deliberate about their passions and futures in writing, and encourage them to write until they surprise themselves, and then keep writing.
Issue 15
2022