i hate to wear orange but i can never resist
picking the jewelweed flowers which dot the green
of county riverbanks—one of five or so
drawings i’ve ever been proud of, penciled with care
into my nature journal at seventeen. around then,
i found out there might be more for me
in a mid-atlantic swamp town than starched white
polo shirts and racing for seats at an ivy league
orientation next fall. late august breezes will always
kiss the sweat on my neck like a lover who convinced
me to stay and sit a while, to listen to the babble of
deep run and the hum of the beltway carry over the
patch of asphalt i learned to drive on. but i’m not sure
they’ll ever persuade me that i shouldn’t move a muscle;
not to dream this creekbed lies literally anywhere else.
nat raum (b. 1996) is a disabled artist, writer, and genderless disaster from Baltimore, MD. They’re a current MFA candidate and also the editor-in-chief of fifth wheel press. Past and upcoming publishers of their writing include Olney Magazine, perhappened, CLOVES, and trampset. Find them online: natraum.com/links.