There are things I only find at your house
starting with that feeling of calm, like a pair of slippers by the
door, shuffling down the hall to you with a swish-swish-swish,
the fresh courage I sip from the glass of water on the end table,
always filled, always smaller than yours so I know which is which,
the reassuring weight of your body draped over mine like a blanket,
one long leg still visible under the fold of my arm, your hand on my hip,
the warm sanctuary of bone on bone releasing a velvet frequency in
my ears that subdues the roar of everything that came before and
even everything after, the perfection of repose, finally, a lacuna
that spreads open my ribs to make more room for this heart,
to make more room for these poems to flood into.
Adriana PalancaAdriana is a Montréal-based writer, poet and essayist who explores the connection between memory—both personal and collective—and how it manifests in our bodies, in our words and in our intentions. In addition to querying her first novel, Adriana is also writing a second novel about Montréal teens in the 1970s. Her first poetry collection, With Your Teeth in My Heart, will be launched in October 2025.