Mary
Hannah Vliet
Phoebe told me to wish on satellites
and that she knows the end
Adam told me to make a system
Mary told me to just pretend
Eileen took me every Sunday
and bought a necklace with a saint
Eliza told me it’s all a simulation
Mary told me just to wait
Garret told me we go out alone
Owen told me to fuck off
My stupid cats just meowed at me
I don’t think they’re far off
Mary goes to a Catholic school now
She knows it isn’t real
But I still think about our time there
And all the wounds she helped me heal
When I scream at swollen stars now
Or pick my brain until it bleeds
I ask for something to believe in
Mary, I never wanted to be freed
Hannah Vliet (she/they) is a senior Honors College Scholar double majoring in Theatre Arts and Cinema Studies, minoring in Creative Writing. She is heavily involved with Cabaret Theater, where she starred in the Fall 2021 main-stage play, “Gruesome Playground Injuries,” and with the Office for Violence Prevention and Victim Assistance, where she volunteers as a hotline worker and survivor advocate. Her other recent writing includes reviews for the New Jersey International Film Festival, short plays for Stream On! Productions and Cabaret Theater, and a forthcoming article in Film Matters Magazine.