“Bones” and “Verified” by A.L. Michaelson
Bones
Let me rest my bones on you.
We are two beings
Holding half a universe
On our shoulders but-
We might be able
To let our bodies entwine
Flesh meets flesh, and
Bone can settle on bone.
We can build a home together,
As we combine earth, and salt
And stardust.
I think we can shoulder this universe together.
Keep me wrapped in embrace,
Solidify as we build pillars
From all that we are.
I can taste all of your worlds on your lips-
Breathe your atmosphere and
Catch the stars falling from your fingertips.
It’s exhausting building all these galaxies;
But if I can rest with you-
Nestled in close to one another
Tucked into each other's gravity,
I think I can bear having to string
The universe together with you.
So-
Let me rest my bones on you.
Verified
If I go through life making sound
And no one is around to hear it
Does that mean I
Cannot exist?
There is nothing quite like the sound of
Nothing-
It allows for amplification and cacophonous
Interludes that might punctuate
The moments passing in time.
Soundlessness lets sound fill it,
Willingly and invitingly resistant-
Sun-dipped footsteps on wood floors,
And the hiss of a coffee pot
During a sleepy Sunday sunrise.
The entire time, silence is fighting for life.
Should I bother waking
The rest of the world with this sound?
I can open my mouth and move it,
But refuse to release a whisper,
Constantly questioning if I should.
I could speak but have no one to talk to,
And if I make a sound to nothing
I could unwillingly wake the whole world.
Should I announce my presence by
Making this noise?
I want to prove that I can fill up the space of
Nothing
So that I can feel that I am fuller
Do I need someone else to
Verify my existence?
I could fill up the room like a gas,
Invisible, yet all-encompassing,
Pressing out against the confines
Of the container that I am caught in.
If I can rise up, I can simply let
This sound escape me,
And it will no longer be contained.
Instead, I would fill the space
Of the Universe.
I can break through nothing and everything
And I know that
I will be
I will be
I will be.
I will make substance out of absence,
I will absorb sound and foster it in me-
Growing and growing like a flower in my lungs
Until it blossoms, and petals
Become asteroids as they pour
From my mouth.
When I have filled the sky with
Chrysanthemum constellations
Sun-flowers, and poppy planets
I will know that I have made something
From nothing-
I will be
Verified.
About A.L. Michaelson
She/Her/Hers
A. L. Michaelson whittles away the hours of the night writing, after spending busy days in Colorado either teaching or volunteering at a non-profit. For a long while, Michaelson feared the greatest piece of writing she would ever produce was a unicorn story when she was seven. Luckily, she might not have peaked just yet. Michaelson is thrilled to have the opportunity to share her voice- a voice that analyzes the past and pulls lessons, sometimes warnings, from it. Along with working on poetry, Michaelson has a novel she is finishing. In her very spare time, she enjoys hiking and working with animals.