by Ashley Cline

for example: if you stand still enough / on a forest trail in late-february

a butterfly will mistake you for nature / pass so close

that you will hear the monsoon of her wings / in distant harbors—

picture it: the way the water laps at the hull of a ship / sounds like amen

in any tongue / cut to an event horizon: the 18th century

a ship leaves port, sets sail / with it a seed balanced in ballast waters—

history of the common reed / as intricate

as any prayer

An avid introvert, full-time carbon-based life-form & aspiring himbo, Ashley Cline’s poetry has appeared here, & also there. Once, in the summer of 2019, she crowd-surfed an inflatable sword to Carly Rae Jepsen, & her best at all-you-can-eat sushi is 5 rolls in 11 minutes. She is also the author of four chapbooks of poetry. Twitter: @the_Cline. Instagram: @clineclinecline. Linktree: @ashleycline.