‘God of the MTA’
— Hannah Cohen
Recently, I’ve been struggling with some internal conflict. I think everyone has been through this though, which is why this newest poem by Joanna C. Valente strikes me as personally vivid and softly sharp. “you almost got it / & you don’t” echoes in my mind long after the poem ends. Touch and taste intertwine and let go; we have visions of cheeseburgers, flesh, lungs, and asthma. You can feel the sensations between each line break, and I appreciate how the slashes and ampersands flow so beautifully that the poem would look unnatural without those symbols. Take some time to reflect during these difficult days, and try to “[r]emember / when we held each other”.