The Diamond Line

The University of Arkansas Undergraduate Literary Magazine

When the last forecast of snow turns to a chance

        of rain and the ice on the pond breaks into ripples

               and the winter bedding finally feels too heavy on our my 

                     shared bed,

When the Fish begin to dive into starry depths

        and your Ram reaches the peak of its yearly climb

                and you step out into the day with a cardigan instead

                      of a coat,

When the bear in the hills behind our my house

        wakes and startles the north-minded birds and ruins

                the fresh honey hives of the too few bees, this year even

                      fewer,

When the grass pulls a phoenix and you hear

         the first mower of the year droning, droning and your

                allergies return and you call your mother to talk about your

                      [new] man,

When the air begins to smell less like salt

         and more like perfume and the puddles in the potholes

                splash instead of crack as you pass over them on your way

                       to work,

When you lie down in the home we he built

          and I stand in our my garden waiting for the year’s first

                butterfly to find the daffodil narcissus I planted for you,

                        for us,

I will still [redacted],

                                                                  [add] or I won’t.

Zach is a fifth year senior majoring in English, History and Creative Writing and minoring in Spanish, Medieval and Renaissance Studies, and Gender Studies. After graduation in May he will be applying to MFA programs for Poetry or Fiction. In an ideal world, he would spend every day traveling, telling stories, and making art and hopes that he can base his future life around that ideal.

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