1 poem

by genevieve harding

Interlochen Arts Academy

Old Mission Peninsula

             the faded floorboards     sand in the corners
cherry orchard      out the old paned window
the cherries    bittersweet     sour      on the tongue
              i learned to    tie knots in the stem    inside
the cottage is dark     only overcast sunlight
reflects       off sheets that aren’t mine    bunk beds
             shared journal entries       in ribbon now frayed or lost
the pages are falling out    my mother brushed knots
out of my lake     soaked hair sand    falling from the strands
            bathing suit bunched       from sitting on the beach      with pink toes
my brother and i found       paintballs in the orchard
gold bursting green    like an elementary experiment      we laughed
             barefooted    rinsing feet with the hose behind      the cottage
no longer belongs     to who it once did    when sitting
at the picnic table     wearing elastic waist shorts   kids t-shirts
             pretending i am older      now     almost eighteen
phantom      pink toes pressing      the floorboards
to an old ache     wearing a faded too small swimsuit
             brushing knots out        i imagine sand falling
a plastic anchor     from the basement      breaks away
can not hold     a season    a life down       back then i saw the city
             lights reaching     from ten years away