Irony

In liminal space,
Epiphany blooms
Then fades in eclipse,
In ennui.
The serendipity feels like a chimera.
Leviathan in Metropolis,
This totem of confusion
Transforms into mosaic rhapsody,
A labyrinth of alchemy.
Epitaph carved on the monolith.
The mind becomes a quagmire,
A parallax of what is real,
What is true.

Harbinger

The red mirage from the hearth,
looming, cascading, 
echoing an ember glow from the solstice,
under the celestial canopy.

A turpentine mucking haven,
with silts and shards
chiseling the pinnacle—
a verdant glade of hollow,
where meadowlarks chirp.

In the thicket,
in the tundra,
beneath the dune,
through mire and glade,
the tempest orbits.

First Place

I saw a smooth surface beneath my soft palms 
that once awkwardly held a pencil.
Glossy green-blue or cotton candy pink,
sometimes scarred with little scribbles.
A rectangle whose sharp edges 
were softened for small hands.
I trace the thin grey lines,
feel the rubber lining,
soothing me from inside.

The ceiling saw blocks of rectangles forming
a blueprint for a square.
Gaps in between some,
some crooked,
some deviating from others.
But always together.

The carpet saw the underneath, where no one pays attention.
Ancient gums that hardened into fossils,
boogers pressed into corners.
Drawings of stick figures,
words carved with defiance–
“Stupid,” “Dog poop”–
rebellion in permanent markers.

The windows saw blurs of identical shapes.
A line of possibility.
Where the soft brains were hardened.
Where the soft hands learned how to find themselves.

“I like my life,” it whispers,
through scratch surfaces and wobbly legs.
“I know I’m loved. I know I’m needed.”
“They come and go, but I stay here,
ready to be a second home.”

Once so big,
not intimidating but
embracing.
My place in the world,
solid and certain.
Thought it would never change.
Now it fades in memory
when I sit—if I could sit—
it would barely hold me.
Reminding me of the distance between who I was and who I’ve become
The time between it and me.

Alexis Lee is a high school student and emerging poet who finds inspiration in fleeting moments, music, and the quiet details of daily life. Her work explores themes of memory, transformation, and human connection. When she’s not writing, she enjoys reading contemporary poetry, listening to indie music, and exploring local bookstores.