Quarantine

Hands rubbing the driver’s wheel,
A slimy pearl plucked from deep beneath,
Your fingers cross my knuckles,
Spread tentacles, tender octopus,
Our aquarium ferries us from apartment to seashore,
We gaze opalescent from foggy windows and
Applaud the clouds and cars speeding by on currents unseen
Untouched by our willowy palms,
A sonorous wail gurgling from below,
Bellowed from a hollow beneath the car seat
A cavernous chest illuminated by our bioluminescent eyes,
Milky and white, meet the o-gasp of my mouth
And laugh when my lungs collapse from the pressure.

Cheryl Aguirre is a poet and recent graduate based in Austin, Texas. Their work focuses on queer and biracial experiences in a red state. You can follow them at @drowsy_orchid on Instagram, or @wheat_mistress on Twitter.