Sunflowers by Jenny George
"Having died / all the way back to the root, I grow again / into a version of the thing I love"
Strawberry by Paisley Rekdal
"I’m going to fail simply by standing in front of you, / waving my arms in your face as if hailing a taxi: / I’m here, I’m here
How to Begin by Catherine Abbey Hodges
"Step into your ribcage. // Feel the draft of your heart's doors / as they open and close."
Lucky by Kirsten Dierking
"All this time, / the life you were / supposed to live / has been rising around you"
Instructions for the Journey by Pat Schneider
"It’s easy to lose this tenderly / unfolding moment. Look for it / as if it were the first green blade / after a long winter."
You Think You Are Something Less Real Than You Are by Wendy Xu
"There is nothing / you won’t put on. You put on the darkness. / You put on some stars and even what / is between them. You put on the moon."
You with the Crack Running Through You by Kim Addonizio
"But isn’t it drafty at night, / alone in that canyon / with the wind of the mind / dragging its debris—"