Poem by Julia Cote 

Art by Seven Descheneaux

I want answers and sometimes

I get them, but even then,

The truth is only a word. 

Maybe I always knew this, but, 

I’ve always liked my music

Louder than what 

Scares me. 

Moths in the dark farmland, we

Jumped around in light that

I watched burst out 

Of the ground. We shook

The lids of the trees 

Open while their limbs 

Kicked out. 

The black paint goes on

For what must be miles. 

I imagine our skin is the 

Forgotten earth on which

So many roads were paved,

Cracked, and re-paved. 

They lead somewhere that

Might be ourselves or 

A funny story about

Leaving something behind 

to soothe the fear 

of abandonment. 

When the light crawls back

Into the ground and the 

Blacked out animals

Stop banging on their 

Amplified troughs, 

I’ll put my hands inside

Of your jacket to keep

Both of us warm. Later, 

You’ll watch the cars 

Passing at 50, and shout

When it’s time for me

To run.