staring up through the windshield
aphelion never looked so close
the sky an eruption of blue
clear and inviting
where once I clutched
whispered promises, my
concave chest blisters red
below a fire sun
along this highway trajectory
ivory clouds float ahead
to an unmapped destination
each mile marker a flag to the past
I remember where we started;
grass-stained knees, a picnic blanket
the city on the horizon
melting into a maze of lights
you puff out smoke like
a train full steam ahead,
I taste the exhaust in my lungs
you toss out your cigarette
as the mixtape unravels
before us
Bio -Melissa Calderon-Rougié (she/her) is a Peruvian-American writer born and raised in New York. Her poetry has been published in 433 Mag, Harness Magazine, DREICH themed chapbooks, and various anthologies. She is a Tin House alum. The eldest daughter of Peruvian immigrants, she lives with her husband, daughter and son in Queens.
