crowded party in a haywire brain

By Olivia Klein

crowded party in a haywire brain

this is the first summer i exposed my sadness to

she brought a bathing suit only the sun could eat her up whole

but she bakes she basksss ssssimmering

s p r e a d i n g

sadness ties a noose around my neck

and tells me i’m pretty desire makes me think

i’m in control

i feel like i take up too much i am running out of

s p a c e

so i burn the hairs off my arm

with a match i write eulogies in my head

to know i’m still alive

only i know this exhaustion

of proving to myself i am

alive when usually i don’t want to

imagine if i showed this to anyone

Olivia Klein is a student at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. Olivia has previously been published in the Write Launch Literary Magazine in their May 2021 issue. Olivia spends her time writing poetry, singing songs, and loving her cat, Otis.