body spell (for opal) - Zone 3

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Volume 38, Issue 2
Volume 38, Issue 2

body spell (for opal)

By Hailey Gross

back then every new word was
magic—a new world to cave in on itself
a body to run around in. we read because

of winn-dixie and i scribbled down
my favorites to tell myself
come monday—for this body, each new word was

mine—a chance to be held close
while we opened anew—a shell
revealing what can be—a body to run in because

it can. boycott and melancholy—ignoramus
demise. bonus points if i use ’em in
a sentence. bonus points if each new word

fits in a sentence to yell at a boy. we
chased each other til i yelled
ignoramus and boycott—til they ran without caring

what it meant. later they’d throw
my skirt up—later put their hands on
my body—say
it’s not like it was [ ].

back then, every new word
held a body—a magic ready to cave in
on itself—til it’s ready to run again because

it can. i boycott this
melancholy—this melancholy cannot
fathom me.

About Hailey Gross

Hailey Gross is a poet, editor, and educator from Los Angeles. As a first-generation college student, she earned her B.A. in English Literature from the University of California, Santa Barbara. She’s a recipient of the Sarah B. Marsh-Rebelo Scholarship for Poetry and the Prebys Poetry Creative Writing Endowed Scholarship and is currently in the final year of the MFA Creative Writing program at San Diego State University. Her poems and translations can be found or are forthcoming in Los Angeles Review, Laurel Review, Harpur Palate, Sepia Journal, and Poetry International.

Volume 38, Issue 2
Volume 38, Issue 2

body spell (for opal)

By Hailey Gross

back then every new word was
magic—a new world to cave in on itself
a body to run around in. we read because

of winn-dixie and i scribbled down
my favorites to tell myself
come monday—for this body, each new word was

mine—a chance to be held close
while we opened anew—a shell
revealing what can be—a body to run in because

it can. boycott and melancholy—ignoramus
demise. bonus points if i use ’em in
a sentence. bonus points if each new word

fits in a sentence to yell at a boy. we
chased each other til i yelled
ignoramus and boycott—til they ran without caring

what it meant. later they’d throw
my skirt up—later put their hands on
my body—say
it’s not like it was [ ].

back then, every new word
held a body—a magic ready to cave in
on itself—til it’s ready to run again because

it can. i boycott this
melancholy—this melancholy cannot
fathom me.

Volume 38, Issue 2
Volume 38, Issue 2

body spell (for opal)

By Hailey Gross

back then every new word was
magic—a new world to cave in on itself
a body to run around in. we read because

of winn-dixie and i scribbled down
my favorites to tell myself
come monday—for this body, each new word was

mine—a chance to be held close
while we opened anew—a shell
revealing what can be—a body to run in because

it can. boycott and melancholy—ignoramus
demise. bonus points if i use ’em in
a sentence. bonus points if each new word

fits in a sentence to yell at a boy. we
chased each other til i yelled
ignoramus and boycott—til they ran without caring

what it meant. later they’d throw
my skirt up—later put their hands on
my body—say
it’s not like it was [ ].

back then, every new word
held a body—a magic ready to cave in
on itself—til it’s ready to run again because

it can. i boycott this
melancholy—this melancholy cannot
fathom me.

About Hailey Gross

Hailey Gross is a poet, editor, and educator from Los Angeles. As a first-generation college student, she earned her B.A. in English Literature from the University of California, Santa Barbara. She’s a recipient of the Sarah B. Marsh-Rebelo Scholarship for Poetry and the Prebys Poetry Creative Writing Endowed Scholarship and is currently in the final year of the MFA Creative Writing program at San Diego State University. Her poems and translations can be found or are forthcoming in Los Angeles Review, Laurel Review, Harpur Palate, Sepia Journal, and Poetry International.