Wordplay
Molly Sowash ’16
This summer Zeena Fuleihan ’18 decided to write one poem a day. For this month’s Wordplay, we are happy to share two of the 106 poems from that project. Zeena is a Creative Writing major and Music minor, involved with Macalester’s Chanter Literary Magazine.
Howling
I like winter as it whistles
snowflakes like fickle lovers past
my brittle red-rimmed ears
Coddled in knotted wool garments,
numb fingertips scoop heartbeats
like cappuccino foam from my chest
In momentary melts, browning
slush clings to my bootprints
like scents on a pillowcase
I like winter as it wrings
barren trees like moments from
under my snow-speckled hair.
Florists
All I want is filler
evidently, by the labels,
the three-dollar stalks
mostly greens with
inconsequential buds;
you know the
baby’s breath or
diamond frost, low-lying
muted purples or yellow
and though they may
cost the least I just
want to cup them
in my hands like a
lover’s rosy cheeks
so delicately precious; I
will always covet filler.