“Suppose You Change Your Life” by Sarah Herrin
After Ocean Vuong
Unlock the door outline shining
On your bedroom wall.
Fall into the shimmering rainforest
Every child in your dreams is another version of you.
Unwrap the gift of time & find
Your own beating heart all 4 chambers
Cardinal signs balance in the wreckage
Of another shadow season.
There is an eye staring back from the other side.
A mirror – a mouth
There is a monster – a mother
Waiting for you on the other side.
Light ripples on the glass silvery & breathing
Wanders through long haunted hallways.
This maze is an offering.
Christmas eve & there is no snow
You’ve made it to another birthday
There was 8 miles when you thought you’d never
Suppose there is another version of you. Reflection
Of the wolf, jaws dripping from the kill.
Claws creep over old-growth rainforest.
Suppose you stand still on the rocky shore
Dizzy in the scent of the sea
All 4 chambers flood with peace.
About Sarah Herrin
They/Them
Sarah Herrin is a queer non-binary poet based in Colorado. They studied at the Savannah College of Art & Design and in the South of France. They are the author of several chapbooks including One Thousand Good Answers (Sunday Mornings At The River) and The Oceanography of Her (Papeachu Press). They are the co-founder and editor of Beyond The Veil Press, which aims to raise mental health awareness through poetry and art.