to take a deep breath
and dive underneath
the crashing waves
of the ocean
around her
to let cool currents
brush against her
arms until the
scars stop throbbing
to dig underneath
sand piles with
open fingers
and when they brush
against a small clam
to grab it
take it to her chest
and clasp it
to keep holding her
breath until her fist
loosens and drops the
clam back on the sand
and then
I tell her to
look at the foam
forming above her
climb back to surface and
let the breath out
About the Poet
Karen Gonzalez-Videla is an undergraduate student at the University of South Florida. She is currently pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and Creative Writing, and she loves combining these two passions in her fiction. Although she writes about a variety of subjects, she focuses mostly on the immigrant experience and the exploration of one’s womanhood. She has upcoming work at Sidereal Magazine, Ghost Parachute, and Somos en Escrito.
For the first time in nearly five years, Vita Brevis is closed for submission. Read the full story here.
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