"Tea Party on the Bottom of the Ocean" by Hailey Stumpo
Sofia Bagdade | Tongue Stones
Fossilized megladon
around your neck
prehistoric, trapped
teeth. A palm under pillow,
crisp green bill, all these years
and my mother still keeps
my fossils in a ceramic tin.
Next to the umbilical cord,
my molars. Next to your
megladon, a blue vein
to ice skate on and know
how much life surges
beneath, the water lobelia
forming a rosette of leaves
in the clear deep. Bones
and stone are both
non-combustible
which is how I know
we shrink without
ever breaking
around your neck
prehistoric, trapped
teeth. A palm under pillow,
crisp green bill, all these years
and my mother still keeps
my fossils in a ceramic tin.
Next to the umbilical cord,
my molars. Next to your
megladon, a blue vein
to ice skate on and know
how much life surges
beneath, the water lobelia
forming a rosette of leaves
in the clear deep. Bones
and stone are both
non-combustible
which is how I know
we shrink without
ever breaking
Sofia Bagdade is a poet from New York City. Her work appears in The Amsterdam Review, The Santa Barbara Literary Journal, and Wild Roof Journal, among other publications. More of her work can be found at sofiabagdade.weebly.com or on Instagram @sofiabagdade. She finds joy in smooth ink, orange light, and French Bulldogs.
Hailey Stumpo is a Dover-based fine artist currently pursuing a degree in studio art at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania. Her works have been acquired by private collectors in Florida, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware, including renowned oil painter Dr. Sandra Corpora, by whom Stumpo has been mentored for three years. You can find Hailey on Instagram @indieannaartwork and on her website.
