andrea lianne grabowski is a midwestern lesbian writer occupying Anishinaabe land. her published work lives in HELL IS REAL Anthology, fifth wheel press, Scavengers, and elsewhere. she served as an editor for NMC Mag and is a Best of the Net nominee. you can find her making zines, on long drives being inspired by music, or peering in the windows of abandoned buildings.
“‘the temperament of see-through arrows and receding tides’ draws words from the lyrics of the self-defined future pop band Purity Ring’s third album, WOMB (2020). from the moment i discovered their work, i was drawn in by the unusual turns of phrase and morsels of wisdom woven into their syrupy, haunting songs. utilizing their lyrics as a word bank was a meaningful way to engage with and be inspired by art that is both so similar and so different from my own.”
i, like the devil, will cry
tears of emerald birds
until they pour into a crater
and the sweat on my collarbone
turns to hundred year old glass.
the threads of my peace
are missing. it’s the kindest thing
an angel ever said to me.
my dread is a bicycle, floating
at the edge of a storm, dew-seeped.
out the window, the pavement
crawls up the stairs and swallows the moon.
i’ve waited so long. my youth was anger
and silk. my future creatures are so still,
i can’t see them through all the pink sand
rising in the ocean. is it a flood? i wonder.
i would lurk in the drapes if i could.
smoke, spinning, but not dying. my
softer insides are wrath. time isn’t patient.
in my chest, i found folded autumn.
in my spine, drawn out longing.
i wonder at the terror over the horizon.
the almanac lies.
i lick the dew from my scars.
