Fair faced, you stand welcoming,
the sun running its tongue roughly up and down the sides of your neck, leaving marks you swear would kill you in a different life.

No longer sunburned, chasing the feeling like sheets against sandpaper in between your skin.

Look at the road, she says, it’s painted with the same colour as nighttime in our new apartment, she says, I know you haven’t seen it yet, just trust me.

She’s worried the sun is reaching for her bones, is looking for the marrow and will burn away the layers of skin and muscle to get to it. She says:

That’s why I spend so much time under the covers

Zoë Brouns is a recent UC Berkeley graduate and proud queer woman currently living and working in St. Louis, MO. She studied political science at Cal, but finds that writing helps her breathe more easily. You can find her on Twitter at @alonelysloth.