Two Poems by Caitlyn Burns

I’m All the Fishes in the Sea

I saw a video of dolphins
cutting through waves
to arc across an oversaturated horizon
It reminded me of the life
in the frightening tides
the raw beauty, the way things fit
I had forgotten the earth
my finite and fragile place in it
how terribly little I matter

amid my acceptance that
such an epiphany is
no doubt narcissistic in nature
I hope someone will
find me where I lie
in a phone-screen-lit room
we could be like the dolphins
take on life’s tumultuous waves 
I know I’m deluded

dolphins, too, are non-monogamous
and I am socially inept, no signature 
whistle to give away my location 
I’ve trashed the dating apps
that never facilitate
dolphin-level communication
grew tired of throwing out 
hooks and lines in
the sea of other narcissists

stupidity acknowledged
I can barely breathe without 
someone to hold me at night
something sweet and stimulating
to help me stomach the world
without throwing up in my mouth
I close the still-looping video
wonder if I will ever stop being
afraid of my deep blue insides

You are what I listen to when I’m alone

What song is this?
Don’t steal my taste
to get   attention from some
other midnight.

I accuse because
it feels like    my good parts
became you. The color left
my life, became yours.

On the balcony, you peer through
the warm silence, my limpid form
with       an ungraceful green

reply,    No.
This is what I listen to
when I’m alone. 

When I say I enjoy
the air, I mean what it feels like
around you – no place else.
Even the stars are hiding.

Caitlyn Burns is a poet from small-town Wesson, Mississippi. She is studying creative writing at The University of Southern Mississippi and hopes to pursue a career in teaching and writing. Her work will appear in a forthcoming issue of Valley Voices.