Love Poem II
I wish they would lay our bones out in the sunshine.
Bleached to dust, yours and mine-
dissolved by the days that would have been ours-
we could melt together,
fragments in the rain – dancing in the breeze,
drifting to the stars and comets,
melding with heat.
Contrasting Cartwheels
We become adept at uncurling our tongues.
Smudging our bold,
Shadowing our spirits.
We tune ourselves to a public flat-key-
A dull persona that does not intimidate or swallow the world.
We fold ourselves into pocket squares-
Attempting to fit into spaces that were not created
for us.
We, the rainbow of fast talkers-
Interrupters-
Sponges, who feel moments “too much”- to be
stuffed in the idle state that cartwheels to death.
We, the spectrum seers – exploding with life –
absorbing the universe –
writing poetry in shorthand
Rachel Hoermann is a third-year student at the University of Cincinnati, dual-majoring in English-Creative Writing and English-Rhetoric and Professional Writing. She is also pursuing a minor in Women, Gender & Sexuality Studies and a certificate in Copyediting and Publishing. Rachel is a newly inducted Pi Epsilon Pi National Writing Society member and President of UC Clermont’s Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society. Rachel is a mother of two daughters and wife to a supportive husband; they share their home with three feline overlords. Rachel enjoys reading, writing poetry, FC Cincinnati games (Acosta is the best #10 in MLS,) baking, gardening, art museums, and traveling. Rachel has been an editor with the East Fork Journal of the Arts since 2021 and managing editor since the Fall of 2022.