OLIVIA ZARZYCKI
twizzlers make me think
of my mother
when a mourning dove coos
I wake up in my childhood
room for a moment
blue is the hospital
red is my father
violins remind me of jimmy
who I haven’t seen
since the funeral
whiskey smells like
a bad ex and anxiety
water is peace
and grass under bare feet
feels like a time when
I didn’t have burden
turtles are plastic
sandboxes and I
can’t eat corndogs
because of the time
I got food poisoning
aunt lisa held a cup
that I puked in
on the drive home
horses are for my
grandmother the
sea is for my sister
and no matter what
I do to forget almost
every fucking thing
reminds me of
you
of my mother
when a mourning dove coos
I wake up in my childhood
room for a moment
blue is the hospital
red is my father
violins remind me of jimmy
who I haven’t seen
since the funeral
whiskey smells like
a bad ex and anxiety
water is peace
and grass under bare feet
feels like a time when
I didn’t have burden
turtles are plastic
sandboxes and I
can’t eat corndogs
because of the time
I got food poisoning
aunt lisa held a cup
that I puked in
on the drive home
horses are for my
grandmother the
sea is for my sister
and no matter what
I do to forget almost
every fucking thing
reminds me of
you