“earthly things”
In the dip of my suspension bridge heart
lies a letter to my next incarnation.
It contains secrets once held in my cavities now
paused, hanging in the negative space,
lodged between beginnings like foodstuff
in one’s teeth. As non-memories
become, only earthly things matter now.
First words, chopsticks, rosaries, goosebumps—
life’s details encrypted into non-consciousness
and awaiting translation. We seek divinity,
not knowing it’s here in our lungs
and dirty laundry; we need only unravel
our harrowed orbits and lay flat to dry.
Written By: Aiya Madarang
About the Author: Aiya is a creative writing student at CCSF and a member of the SF art collective Syzygy. She holds a bachelor’s in linguistics from UC Santa Cruz. She is a lover of words, the layers beneath them, and the spaces between them.
Visual Art By: Kerim Harmanci
About the Artist: Kerim Harmanci – raised in PA and NY – is a San Francisco photographer and student at City College, currently taking darkroom and lighting classes as well as peer mentoring and doing aerial drone photography on his days off.
Forum Literary Magazine 