perhappened mag
issue 14: HIDE & SEEK
golden shovel for
counting ways to be alive
ARIANA VAN DYCK
after Gwendolyn Brooks
after Terrance Hayes
I keep asking about graves:
the time it takes a seed to yield & grow,
distance making me no
companion of past selves, green
in belief, stuck on that
growing hunger toward opposite: you,
with delicious and capable hands, can
swallow words before they have use,
guess each of my tongues—remember?
Glued in bed. Creasing greens
& folded purples. It is now your
burden, my brain. Color
me quiet, caulk anything porous. You
biting hopeful thing. Are
you sure we will make it to spring—
after Terrance Hayes
I keep asking about graves:
the time it takes a seed to yield & grow,
distance making me no
companion of past selves, green
in belief, stuck on that
growing hunger toward opposite: you,
with delicious and capable hands, can
swallow words before they have use,
guess each of my tongues—remember?
Glued in bed. Creasing greens
& folded purples. It is now your
burden, my brain. Color
me quiet, caulk anything porous. You
biting hopeful thing. Are
you sure we will make it to spring—
Ariana van Dyck grew up in Minnesota and now lives in Chicago. You can follow her work at @arianavandyck on Instagram and Twitter.