{"id":5170,"date":"2025-08-05T20:03:46","date_gmt":"2025-08-05T20:03:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/writers-house-review\/?page_id=5170"},"modified":"2026-03-08T12:32:44","modified_gmt":"2026-03-08T12:32:44","slug":"seven-poems","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/writers-house-review\/vol-6-winter-2025-2027\/seven-poems\/","title":{"rendered":"Seven Poems"},"content":{"rendered":"<hr \/>\n<h4><em>Sophia Reich<\/em><\/h4>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>The Bathers<\/b><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Moth-eaten light<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">traces orthogonals into<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">her body\u2019s plane. A worn<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">torso etches itself<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">into the walls<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">as if it has been waiting\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">to meet the wind, to meet\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">the rain. Her right leg curves\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">like a silver pendulum\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">until it falls perpendicular with\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">the wooden planks. I sit across\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">from her bitter exhales,<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">anchored in the<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">weight of salt. I cannot help<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">but stare at the way\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">she swats at her shoulders\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">to disrupt the emptiness\u2014<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">as though she can cleanse herself\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">of time. And how she lets<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">the spare glass-beads collect\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">just below<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">her blue temples and seep\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">from the creased valley<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">of her upper-lip<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u2014they seem to seize the promise<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">of water. In time, I will<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">undress myself to the body<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">of a fragile membrane\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">against the black-pitted stones<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">and her flesh will become\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">the faint lines in my palm. There is no<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">fountain, no riverbed. You cannot\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">drink out of it, even when your tongue<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">is a warped petal, and you are\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">caught between your stifling\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">dreams.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>Karma<\/b><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Karma arrives<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">in gossamer tights\u2014which cover\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">the silver capillaries of her ankles. She cuts\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">her ear lobes with blood-let garnets, perfumes<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">her pale laugh in absinthe.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">With a cigarette holder\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">perched between her fingertips, she reveals\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">her pearl-like molars<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">as she invites you into her jagged nebula.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">She says\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">that she is only staying for a couple nights,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">perhaps in some damp, bleached-carpet ashtray of a motel<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">which parallels the interstate.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">You let her walk into your life\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">as easily as a crow contorts its spine, as easily as<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">a streetcar skims lacquered steel.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Your dreams<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">are filled with decks of cards. Knaves and queens twist<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">in vermillion wind-tunnels, their turpentine bodies<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">as flimsy and oblivious as paper\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">itself. She fingers through the cards,<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">only to pause when she\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">reaches the hollowed face<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">of the fool.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">You know that she will leave you\u2014<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">and yet, like some forlorn lover<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">you wait on the other end of the line<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">in silence. Just long enough\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">so that the\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">telephone cord\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">begins to coil\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">around your soft, fetal neck.<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>Two Worlds<\/b><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">A man sits on the edge of<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">a highway, eternities separating him\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">from the solid dashes of titanium-white and\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">the starved headlights. He holds a sign to his\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">concave chest. Shredded cardboard meets\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">his wind-calloused fingertips. Drawn letters\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">melt like candle-wax. <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Is it all in vain?<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Plastic bags sever the leathery tendons of\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">his ankles, and he vanishes into the\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">car-choked exhaust and the translucent\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">weeks. The cars drive by.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">I once saw a deer caught between<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">two worlds. It hurled its abdomen<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">into a chain-link fence, over and<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">over again. What was beyond\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">the fence, I don\u2019t know. Perhaps\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">the black-walnut<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">trees called to it or the\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">tear-soaked lichen. Its distant\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">crashes trembled in the woven drum\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">of my skull, as raw as the wounds<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">of a gorge. Those steel chains,\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">like daggers, recoiled into the turgid\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">underbelly of the deer\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">until its coat was red-clay and\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">its eyes were sphincters\u2014<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">endlessly searching.<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>Ars Poetica\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Poetry is the act of carving<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">away at Roman marble, as if to<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">liberate flesh\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">with the unconscious edge<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">of a chisel.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Let the solid bust<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">meet the tender grip\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">of your hands,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">and the snow-bound<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">light penetrate\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">the eye.\u00a0 Feel the stone\u2019s porousness,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">as it siphons the heat<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">of your blushing fingers into its\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">sculpted tundra. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 80px\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">There is a pulse,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">a root, a world resolving itself to\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">space. You can feel the cypress tree<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">as it writhes in the breath of<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">spring. Its green tendrils\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">weave like nylon sutures\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">towards the hand of God.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">I fear the day\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">when I will have to forgo\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">the blade for the shovel. I will be\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">bound to overturn\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">the carcass of the earth, to\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">shunt the worm-eaten<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">impulses,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">to bury the words. The lilies\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">will be left with iron lungs and<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">black-tarred veins.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">And I will inscribe\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">their silent names in\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">the slate of a\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">tombstone.<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>Self-Portrait\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Behind me walks a girl\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">in a red wool hat. She trails\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">behind, filling my slipstream<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">with her na\u00efve<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">ways. It is as if\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">the midday sun\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">has peaked in the sky\u2014<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">its lazy jaw hangs overhead and\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">gingerly casts a shadow<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">on the asphalt. She is quite a\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">bit shorter than me, and has hair<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">that hangs from her nape\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">like Spanish moss. She waltzes<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">in strange bluebells,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">laughs in crinkled bits\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">of wrapping paper,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">and presses her small nose against<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">carpeted floors. I like that<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">she follows me,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">her narrow shoulders bow<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">to her jelly-footed\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">skips. She is blind\u2014<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">in the way that ivy<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">is to rain. She seems to go away when\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">I need her the most. Her sugar<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">footprints dissolve into\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">graphite, liquify\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">into grey matter.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">A breathless void<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">which leaves the hours long\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">and vacant. I awake\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">to rattling heaters and white<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">bed sheets only<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">to look at the pale numbers which glow before\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">my very eyes. And I think of her,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">my sweet, sweet<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">shadow.<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>Rousseau\u2019s Tigers<\/b><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Anslem worked for\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">my grandparents. He had skin\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">the color of blackstrap molasses\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">and wore his jeans loosely\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">as if his leather belt was a ring of\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Saturn and his narrow waist\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">was some distant planet. He would arrive\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">with metal pruners in hand,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">and cut away at the lopsided mango tree\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">until it bore fruit again. I had never seen\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">anyone who had seen more suns\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">than Anselm. The whites of his\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">eyes were oxidized to the color of\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">dried palm, nicked with stagnant deltas\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">of blood. He didn\u2019t say much\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">but I remember how I\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">thought he was the richest man\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">alive because of his gold-capped-teeth.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Once the rainy season came,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">he stopped coming. His exit\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">was marked by the ping-pang\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">of stucco-roofs and the tender\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">drooping of vines. He must have<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">drank himself\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">to yesterday. I have searched<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">for the face of God\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">and found nothing<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">but the forked ribs<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">of a tiger.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 800\">the sparrow<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">you are the sparrow\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">which sits upon my windowsill\u2014<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 80px\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">how can you be so still?\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">god must have carved<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">your pupils out of\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">marble\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">and plastered your\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">wings\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">with sepia.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">you tell me of the world and everything in it\u2014<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">your distant lullabies\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">are like a silver flute\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">a faint whistle, <\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">a strange chord.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">you have seen<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">the oak undress herself,<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">threads\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">slipping<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 80px\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">from her bare\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 120px\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">shoulders\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">into echoes\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">of amber.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">you have seen the\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">body of night\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 80px\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">as it eats away<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">at the tender flesh of\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">daylight,<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">the flecks of mischief\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">upon a fawn\u2019s<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">winter coat\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">and\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">the sternum\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">of the sunken pine<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">which only\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">native eyes\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">can see.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">you make me wonder\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">how bones can be\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">hollow<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">i have become accustomed\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">to enamel,<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 80px\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">to brushed collodion,<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 120px\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">the walls\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">of paper mache\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">that leave particles\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">of ether<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">pressed against\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">my fingertips.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">i want to tell you\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 80px\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">to leave,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 120px\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">to go\u2014\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">for every<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">moment<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">you are earth-bound\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 120px\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">the shears of time<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 160px\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">clip your gentle\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 160px\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">wings.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">perhaps in seeing<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">you<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">so still,<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">so fair,<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">i am reminded\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">a window is<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">just a cage\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">of\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">glass.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>Sophia Reich<\/strong> (she\/her) is a rising senior in the Honors College. Born and raised in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, she is double-majoring in cell biology &amp; neuroscience (CBN) and art history. She gives special thanks to Professor November and Professor Miller, both of whom worked with her during the 2024-2025 academic year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sophia Reich &nbsp; The Bathers &nbsp; Moth-eaten light traces orthogonals into her body\u2019s plane. A worn torso etches itself into the walls as if it has been waiting\u00a0 to meet &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/writers-house-review\/vol-6-winter-2025-2027\/seven-poems\/\" class=\"\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2513,"featured_media":0,"parent":5102,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-5170","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Seven Poems - Writers House Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/writers-house-review\/vol-6-winter-2025-2027\/seven-poems\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Seven Poems - Writers House Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Sophia Reich &nbsp; The Bathers &nbsp; Moth-eaten light traces orthogonals into her body\u2019s plane. 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A worn torso etches itself into the walls as if it has been waiting\u00a0 to meet &hellip; Read More","og_url":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/writers-house-review\/vol-6-winter-2025-2027\/seven-poems\/","og_site_name":"Writers House Review","article_modified_time":"2026-03-08T12:32:44+00:00","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/writers-house-review\/vol-6-winter-2025-2027\/seven-poems\/","url":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/writers-house-review\/vol-6-winter-2025-2027\/seven-poems\/","name":"Seven Poems - Writers House Review","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/writers-house-review\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-08-05T20:03:46+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-08T12:32:44+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/writers-house-review\/vol-6-winter-2025-2027\/seven-poems\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/writers-house-review\/vol-6-winter-2025-2027\/seven-poems\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/writers-house-review\/vol-6-winter-2025-2027\/seven-poems\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/writers-house-review\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Vol. 6 \/ Spring 2026","item":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/writers-house-review\/vol-6-winter-2025-2027\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Seven Poems"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/writers-house-review\/#website","url":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/writers-house-review\/","name":"Writers House Review","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/writers-house-review\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/writers-house-review\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5170","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/writers-house-review\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/writers-house-review\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/writers-house-review\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2513"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/writers-house-review\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5170"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/writers-house-review\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5170\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5531,"href":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/writers-house-review\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5170\/revisions\/5531"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/writers-house-review\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5102"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/writers-house-review\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5170"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}