2022 Issue > Poetry > Eisotrophobia
Artwork by Jesse Lee Kercheval
Eisotrophobia
Arrielle Eckhardt
Again I am looking at her through a mirror covered
In mold creeping up into her mouth crusting over her eyes
Shielding her consuming her she cannot see me she cannot and will not
Hear me I am yelling straining for her my lungs are bleeding
I will let them flood before I let her go but only the pulsing rot
Fills her ears seeps into her brain it is not her I am worried about
But me who's on the outside pleading convulsing
I close my eyes my head slams into her until
The rusted yellow sink fills with our blood and corroded shards of glass
She covers me now I can smell the mildew on her breath
As she whispers “Now look what you’ve done”
Arrielle Eckhardt is an undergraduate student at UW-Platteville with a major in English and an emphasis in Professional Writing.
Jesse Lee Kercheval is a writer, translator, and graphic artist. Her recent books include the short story collection Underground Women and La crisis es el cuerpo, a bilingual edition of her poetry, translated by Ezequiel Zaidenwerg, published in Argentina by Editorial Bajo la luna. Her recent graphic narratives, comics and art have appeared in Waxwing, The Quarantine Public Library, On the Seawall, Sweet Lit, and New Letters.