Mend

by Yoda Olinyk

Mend

                 I am fifteen. I am not stumbling 
through a cornfield alone 

                 at six a.m. I am not plastered
with vomit. My lips 

                 are not a swollen 
gate. My underwear 

                 is whole––not maimed
in my pocket. When a truck pulls over,

                 it is not a sinister boy 
who I can’t place and don’t trust

                 urging me into his pickup.
A savoir

                 song buzzes from the window
of my father’s beat up hatchback. 

                 He invites me to share
the front seat. Reaches over to 

                 secure my seatbelt as Leonard coos
Hallelujah. Hallelujah.

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Poet Yoda Olinyk (she/her) is a writer, editor, and workshop guide from Canada. Her work has appeared in many beloved journals and she has two books out. You can find her at www.doulaofwords.com and on Instagram @doulaofwords.

Artist Stephen Hawks, a ceramic and 2D artist, poet, and educator, was Resident Potter at Westville for 19 years. He earned an MFA in Ceramics and Intermedia at FSU and has taught college art since 2010. Formerly at UTRGV, he is returning to Georgia to focus on his independent studio practice.