"Immersion" by Anna Martin
"Not Today" by Jasmine McBeath
(after William Stafford)
Not today, which tastes like salt,
or days that shutter open,
nor mornings that unveil early
apricots still half-green,
but on a day
when the fog doesn’t clear
until 4pm,
that’s when.
Ask me
how grief transforms
the left chamber
of the heart.
Ask me
how I sunk
to the ground,
how my voice
rose like a bird
escaped on
the word dead
and I waited
below, praying for it
to come
down, return
to this cage.
or days that shutter open,
nor mornings that unveil early
apricots still half-green,
but on a day
when the fog doesn’t clear
until 4pm,
that’s when.
Ask me
how grief transforms
the left chamber
of the heart.
Ask me
how I sunk
to the ground,
how my voice
rose like a bird
escaped on
the word dead
and I waited
below, praying for it
to come
down, return
to this cage.
Jasmine McBeath is a doctoral student at the University of California, Santa Barbara and a Teacher-consultant of the South Coast Writing Project. She teaches and conducts research on programs that blend engineering design with creative writing, art, and social action to encourage underrepresented students in STEM fields. Her work has appeared in The Wayfarer.
Anna Martin is a digital/traditional artist, writer and photographer based out of Saint Augustine, Florida. She is an avid explorer and much of her artwork is inspired by her travels and life experiences, and she strives to capture emotions and inspire others with her work. Her work has been previously exhibited in various galleries and museums, such as the Rosenberg Gallery and the Baltimore Museum of Art, and has also been published in various art magazines such as Grub Street and Plenilune Magazine. Anna is a freelance artist, and is always looking for new work and collaborative projects. Anna also frequently works under the pseudonym Vacantia, and more of her art can be found at her online gallery: http://www.vacantia.org.
