These Things I’ll Be Before I Die

Rachelle Eldar
Entertainment Editor

My body is a mirror of melody,

For every C modulating to G major

my heart drops into my stomach:

a stone sinking into the sea.

The first note comes crashing down

and I’m shipwrecked on an existential island,

gurgling as the last pockets of air slip away.

Harmonies wash over me in waves

that push and pull my soul

into a state of perpetual motion.

The pain swells, hot saltwater

drips from closed eyelids.

I am a ragdoll caught in a tsunami.

I fear death, but not nearly as much as

the all-consuming sadness.