Gabby Zankowitz

Outside Our Complex Somewhere between Nocturne and Aubade

Against the soft glow,                                                gentle bodies start to beat.
something always rises:                                            chests, heat and smoke—
the amber bud                                                           from a cigarette. The red lit apartment
shares a lover's hymn                                                and our bottles make us feel warm
in something brisk. We sit                                         on the silk sheets I brought
outside and all that is left are shadows                   to trace our shape. Maybe the air is
pulled behind us. But the smoke was                      sticking better than my perfume and
fog that turned to morning’s                                     breath. Maybe we can create
little stories for                                                           every place. Forgive me if I include
our own room. Forgive me if I follow—                    the next arrival.

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Gabby Zankowitz is a Sophomore at Salisbury University pursuing her bachelor's in creative writing and finance. She is an assistant poetry editor for the Scarab and works as a teller at a local credit union on breaks. She enjoys thrifting to give old things a new purpose and reading strange books. This is her first publication as an undergraduate.