by Sarah Ann Winn

It’s #tbt! Enjoy this great one from SWWIMEvery Day‘s archives!

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Spoilers: it can be done. Given paper

large enough, thin enough. I have always been
so creased and compressed I’d explode inside

a compressor. Too heavy to lift and yes, some
have tried or joked about it. The first
seven turns are easy. Everyone has
a set number of tools and limited

energy and then we’re done. We can’t
take any more halving, we can’t keep
coming back to the same place pressed
together. We are all imperfect
logic, math-matched,
given the choice,
the moon or that time
I thought I would never be able

to fold again,
I would take the distance
I have
and be grateful
to stand under.
Sistered to the sky.
Darkness is always ready
to do the final calculations,
to keep close.
If most answer forty five
I return at forty six,
still counting.
At forty seven, nobody
asks any more
where will we go
from here?

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Sarah Ann Winn’s first book, Alma Almanac, won the Barrow Street Book Prize. She is the author of five chapbooks, most recently, Ever After the End Matter. Her writing has appeared in Five Points, Massachusetts Review, Nashville Review, and elsewhere. Sarah has led workshops at the Writer's Center, Loft Literary Center and the Poetry Foundation. She's also the founder of Poet Camp, a creative community where she leads online classes, jumpstarts and cozy writing retreats. Find her at poetcamp.com.

by Sarah Ann Winn

Spoilers: it can be done. Given paper

large enough, thin enough. I have always been
so creased and compressed I’d explode inside

a compressor. Too heavy to lift and yes, some
have tried or joked about it. The first
seven turns are easy. Everyone has
a set number of tools and limited

energy and then we’re done. We can’t
take any more halving, we can’t keep
coming back to the same place pressed
together. We are all imperfect
logic, math-matched,
given the choice,
the moon or that time
I thought I would never be able

to fold again,
I would take the distance
I have
and be grateful
to stand under.
Sistered to the sky.
Darkness is always ready
to do the final calculations,
to keep close.
If most answer forty-five
I return at forty six,
still counting.
At forty seven, nobody
asks any more
where will we go
from here?

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sarah Ann Winn’s first book, Alma Almanac, was selected by Elaine Equi as winner of the 2017 Barrow Street Book Prize. She’s the author of five chapbooks, the most recent of which, Ever After the End Matter, is forthcoming from Porkbelly Press in 2019. She teaches poetry workshops in Northern Virginia and the DC Metro area, and online at the Loft Literary Center. Visit her at http://bluebirdwords.com or follow her @blueaisling.