3 Poems by Arielle Tipa

water poppy

what small dangers we are

with our nice clean things all spin-spun and new

darling nymph      and half-eaten, drowned

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haptera

in deeper ponds we      float in bad   gravity

clutching cattails as if they were throats

or bodies more suited for swimming

dissolving politely

                             in a skeleton grace

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such small pearls

yes i have made friends other than the ghosts in my mouth

in this dark expanse of honeycomb        and membrane,

corn husk and cabbage worm

yes i have armfuls of opal for you

and cupped hands so small and

lovely             i've mistaken them for gifts

Arielle Tipa is a writer who lives near a haunted lake in New York. She is the Founding Editor of Occulum. Her debut chapbook of poetry and prose, daughter - seed, is set to release in Winter 2018 from Empty Set Press.