Beach

what is a body if not sand—

glass ground into fine

fragments of otherworldly shimmer

masked by the sum of skin and organs

dunes shift and crumble with time

touching everything, even the inside

of folds unseen or unknown

pieces of me lodged

in you

and isn’t it magic

how we are not we alone

how our scars fit into the narrative of these tides

how I breathe you in

how you exhale into my mouth

this sea is the same as our hands

70% of every gesture

moved by a great pull that doesn’t need a name

even though we do

part of me is already gone

eroded by you

or another starry being

and I smile

shining like the moon

on a quiet surf

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Alexandra Corinth is a disabled writer and artist based in DFW. She is also an editorial assistant for the Southwest Review. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in the Mayo Review, Mad Swirl, Thimble Literary Magazine, and Atticus Review, among others. Her poem, “A Guide for the Visitors of Solovetsky Monastery,” was chosen as a top 10 winner of the Writer’s Garret’s 2018 Common Language Project. You can find her online at typewriterbelle.com.