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
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
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.