encircling
by Kinsey Cantrell
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arrhythmia, apace. starkly apoplectic, rupture. coyote sightings on residential streets. let the hot soup air condense on my lenses. the structure of the day subdued, new spiders settle tunnel webs to strand and tether excess. knees locked. the burners on the stove were off off off off off off i twisted them each to be sure counted off
off
off
off
off
off
off
oxygenated properly lungfuls of air alert mouthfuls of chill metal tap water preoccupy, pied is the door locked it is it is it is it is it stymied the obstruction by regarding daylight savings time as optional dismissed new year shredding star chart rejected the heave of my lungs cardiovascular pace and parasympathetic i leaned off the balcony to elicit chill from the self-regulating mistake of my body
off
off
off so long
to the marked-up counter, the calendar creased
to the wrong month the devastation
of x’s stretched in square so long
to birthdays new rotations old and tired
tunes
cycle to spiral then break, convey exit each seashelled upturned slide/spine the circuitous gradation of electricity crackles in my damp mouth i’ve never been one to shoot sparks but not for lack of exploding out erode doubt promote bout i was for want of circadian rhythm bloated with digestive systems and scorned the relentless blink of my eyes erratic but inevitable as constant responds to need
i didn’t learn how to react then, i didn’t disparaged ritual and counted my breaths differently each time still nothing but the same demanding response
ABOUT THE CREATOR
Kinsey Cantrell lives in Brooklyn, NY. Her poetry is featured or forthcoming in Protean Magazine, SICK Magazine, Apogee Journal, Booth, Hayden’s Ferry Review, and elsewhere, and her manuscript was a finalist for the 2022 Nightboat Poetry Prize. She studies epidemiology and biostatistics at the City University of New York, and she writes for an indie video game. Find her online at www.kinseycantrell.com or on Twitter @kinseymads.