3.15

by SARA ROSE HOTALING

time is wholly unconcerned with the demands of the soul.
a body moves through the day
i suppose it even gets through the night
but my spirit
is in the same room.
do you know the room?
the transparent walls are stained gray
a chapel with its vitality engulfed and estranged
do you know this room?
there’s a dentist
a chair
a body i suppose is my own
there’s numbing gel on my hippocampus
there’s floss between my heart strings
in the timeless dentist chair i see all
i see life go on
and on
and i am motionless.
with a bib on my chest and a hand in my mouth
a feeling beyond discomfort
have u ever had someone deny you closure?
what am i
but a mind stuck in a room
watching life go on
maybe tomorrow there’ll be a door.

Ω

Sara Rose Hotaling is an undergraduate student at Old Dominion University pursuing a BA in English with a concentration in Linguistics and a minor in French. She has conducted, presented, and published research that analyzes conceptual metaphor usage in political campaign discourse. In addition to linguistics, Sara Rose has an interest in literary criticism, critiquing classic works from authors such as William Shakespeare and Nathaniel Hawthorn from both a queer and feminist perspective. Finally, she is a poet who enjoys visceral, earthy, stream-of-consciousness writing interwoven with écriture féminine.

Michael Hower is a photographer from Central Pennsylvania, where he resides with his wife and two boys. His work has been featured in shows at the Biggs Museum of Art, the Masur Museum of Art, the Fitton Center for Creative Arts, the Penn College, and the State Museum of Pennsylvania.