point in time before the heat death of the universe

when i walked across the bridge
that cleft the canal i didn’t yet
know i was performing
an act of leaving. a honeymooner
bloated wild
a vagrant stepping sweetly
towards a bitter piece of sky

if i am still
hear the fenced-in backyards
vacant pools heaped full
with flowers. to my left—
frogs. silent. and
a bird balanced
on a blade of yellow grass

it’s not too late to forgive
myself for my failure to climb over the wire
or teach myself to swim
without water

in this impossible
distance too much
for me to name
i answer only
to the prehistoric air

By Shirley Wang

Biography:

Shirley Wang is eighteen years old and a graduated high school senior located in Northern California. She is a 2019 YoungArts winner in Short Story and her work has been featured in Vagabond City and Peach Mag. She believes in being unabashed in learning, creating, and caring.