musing former lives,

            time I spent at the edge of the water

tasting moments,

lemon sugar at my teeth

filling voids that gouge my memory

depending on the gash to widen, the root to deaden, the nerve to twitch

            and now, when time feels like lemonade

I take off my shoes and socks,

ignore the prick of dry grass at my feet

the sinking needle in skin,

with a dissipated sense of relaxation

sipping sugar water, mixed with gall

in tune with the bloody tap of my toe on the grass

Kristen R. García is a senior from Auburn. She will graduate in