My hand clasps the end of the table as if the stiff plastic would keep me safe. The laughter dies off but gets replaced with banter from other sections of the party. Red Jacket finishes the turn before getting up to grab his second beer from the kitchen.

Ode To Freshmanship

”Not nervous even in the slightest”, said no one during their first day. I hyperventilated whilst wandering completely lost. Told myself I am a grown, Independent Woman. Do not need to call out for the most Miraculous Saviour of them all (my mum) to survive the grand expectation constructed upon us all - to find the right hall.

Breakdown Season

i see the fragments everywhere now:
i spot the cracks, the crevices,
the shedding of shells and shards,
flying off like freebound scrapnel—
the ache of everyone flaking away,
fading into the sunlight of day;