above the breaching humpback, raptors float;
fish fly to deeper blue, evading seabirds–
what’s gravity to these majestic sisters?
til your last, whalefall-peaceful exhalation,
your fear of falling wouldn’t let you climb
to this green realm’s bright edge, where eagles wheel.
i’ve heaved my dripping mass aloft alone, now;
out of my depth, i ache to rise anew.
earth breaches into heaven. in my mind’s eye,
warm updrafts lift my salt blown kiss to you.
Ashley Bevilacqua Anglin‘s passion for language and storytelling led her to a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature and Linguistics. Her debut novel, Undiscovered, was released in 2023. Her short stories, poetry, and creative nonfiction have appeared/will appear in the anthologies Everything Change, Vol. I (as runner-up in ASU Imagination and Climate Futures Initiative’s Climate Fiction Short Story Contest), Panthology, and Cozy-ish; and online in Miniskirt, Minison, Full Mood, and Tree and Stone magazines. You can find her socials, previous work, blog and podcast appearances, etc. at https://linktr.ee/ashleyb.anglin.