Queen Anne's Lace
by Sadie Burch
Where else
is there for me to go if not
the stain on your teeth or
the wrinkles on your skin?
What other bed
is there for me, if not the one
you tucked me into? What
other garden is there
to smell
the flowers in and prick
my finger? What other taste
if not your vegetables and your
blueberries? What other voice
to fill a house? What other teddy
bear if not the one you put
to my cheek? What other silence
if not the silence between
us?
is there for me to go if not
the stain on your teeth or
the wrinkles on your skin?
What other bed
is there for me, if not the one
you tucked me into? What
other garden is there
to smell
the flowers in and prick
my finger? What other taste
if not your vegetables and your
blueberries? What other voice
to fill a house? What other teddy
bear if not the one you put
to my cheek? What other silence
if not the silence between
us?
Sadie Burch (she/her) is originally from Myrtle Beach, SC. Sadie is the 2023 winner of the Charles Crupi Memorial prize, and has been published in The Albion Review, Exist Otherwise, and The Interlochen Review. Sadie is an alumnus of Interlochen Arts Academy and is currently studying at Bennington College, VT.