Divine Symmetry

The oak at the corner of Limewood and Spruce has broken through the concrete, shattering it not unlike my bedroom window, held together by packing tape and bone shards, and the spider that lives in the forgotten ashtray on my front porch has spun strands of canvas to match.

Parting Gifts

When I die, let me sprout daisies.

Let mushrooms overrun the overran, Peek poignant from my chest And pierce through the stretch of purple skin. Let the gentle turkey vulture tear my sustenance, Suck marrow from my breadbox bones. Let the passing rat find warmth in the pit That once held my stomach, My ribs stuffed with deer fur As it burrows past my expired core. When I die, let me feed the earth, Protected from formaldehyde, The presumptuous fear of rot, When I die, let me give life, Let me come home.

ABOUT:

Justice Bellew is a poet currently based out of southeastern Pennsylvania. They currently attend Arcadia University, where they are earning a degree in Creative Writing. They have published several times in the school’s literary magazine, Quiddity. When they aren’t writing poetry, they are teaching preschool, finding themself learning just as much. They love approaching language the way children do: messily, while having a lot of fun.

EDITOR'S SONG PAIRING: Jane Lai — Packing Tape