IN RESPONSE TO THE QUESTION, “WHAT IF WE JUST LIVE?

Living is all I do.

In spite of everything, in spite of the waves crashing down, the moon rocks lining my feet, the fires up north, and the men who sing songs of lies.

I live as the alternative to sitting still, to lying on a bed made by those who came before me, eyes closed and unwilling to move.

Darling, I can feel your heart pulse in my hand.

As thunder fills my ears, whispering you must leave now and never look back at the home you have held in your heart, I am a hitchhiker, holding my luggage in my hand, gravel in my shoes.

Living is leaving.

***

Lucy Rattner is a 20-year-old poet from Rockland, New York. She adores the sublime, the surreal, and the sentimental. Her work has appeared in Midsummer Magazine, Scribere, and Pinky Thinker Press, and has been featured on the Viewless Wings podcast.