singularity syndrome

---

Olivia McArtney

 

i cannot

bear to be

narrowed 

into a

word

or a few,

or even

a river

of novels

detailing 

the depths

of my waters

 

i cannot reduce 

a sunlit moment

of green leaves

coated in gold

into a polaroid pinned

to the wall, or shrivel

my ever-growing

branches into an 

enclosed park

named after the

man who 

designed it

 

or a laugh

into a smile,

or trust into

a spoken promise,

nor shrink these

confessions 

into a poem.

 

---

Olivia McArtney writes, “Hi! I’m Olivia McArtney, a student at Rutgers expected to graduate in 2024. I’m from Long Valley, NJ. My poetry is inspired by the contrast between the simple beauty of nature and the complexity of the human experience.” 

Olivia wrote this poem in a creative writing class taught by Professor Joanna Fuhrman. Fuhrman selected the piece for inclusion in WHR.