4 FEET OFF THE GROUND AND 2 YEARS INTO THE CYBERWEB

well that feeling is new

sumptuous and delicate ; something i do

not deserve to feel –

the richness of the fluttering in

my ribcage i thought i had hollowed out

​

the rhythm of silent words

as they pad, prong-footed and paw-weathered

across some new territory, some violently

bright country i do not dare to enter

​

i sit outside your door, i

dare not tap the wooden frame

with my knuckles -- for fear of

waking this tiny fledgling bird

we are growing between us

​

i dare not tip the scales, the finely

tuned arrangement of stolen promises

we lace between our eyes -- (and now

between the sighs in the internet)

the gap between your footprint and mine. the tiny symphony of digital letters

tapping on a tiny screen

(then quickly deleted)

both refusing to fire first

both refusing to fall

and steadily

hanging out feet over the edge

waiting to see how long

gravity will hold us

before we dare

to test it

Lauren Suchenski has a difficult relationship with punctuation. She has been nominated twice for the Pushcart Prize and four times for The Best of the Net. Her chapbook “Full of Ears and Eyes Am I” (2017) is available from Finishing Line Press, and a full-length collection “All You Can Measure” as well as a chapbook “All Atmosphere” (Selcouth Station 2022) are forthcoming. You can find more of her writing on Instagram @lauren_suchenski or on Twitter @laurensuchenski.

Composition by Daniel Liu.