Too quiet to write you said it would be too quiet to write Who you shutting up for? Here with the perfect shapes and barely bloody blues and floor seats and a guest book with my phantom first two letters already filled in / she said something like we were waiting What do other people pray for in such spaces? / I feel full on just a mouthful of what words I know Silent and monochromatic My longing for a silken suspension then this spiritual lift-off is as synchronous as the parking spot / as my dual-tone denim matching the all of this / as anything we’re willing to say was meant to be How long did he spend on each and where does the red end and the gray begin and where does grief end and healing begin and what I would give to stay firmly lodged in a moment Breathless realm / sacred shapes / symmetrical shadows / neutral god here for the dutiful and despondent Soggy trifurcated murals thick with slow rhythms and intentional incidentals You would have loved it I only think on occasion because at the end of the day there was plenty to deflate Look long enough that the ghosts start looking back Nothing to see here everyone says / no one means / never true / nearly blue But the grown and growing heart / but the light shaft / but the whisper
Alana Baum (she/they) is a queer poet from Los Angeles, currently living in Philadelphia. Her work has been published in Argot Magazine, Oatmeal Magazine, No Assholes Literary Magazine, and Yes Poetry. Alana also writes custom poems for strangers via @softcorepoetics. They are in graduate school to become a sex therapist.
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masterful and gorgeous! I often get very emotional when viewing Rothko so this one really spoke to me.