Don’t you wonder what they might think?
Hide your body 
Which you have sculpted all season
From the greasy tar of pavement 
Thickening the soles of your warm sneakers
You pasted tendons into muscles from the sweat of a thousand runs. And yet you must hide the features
That grace you with animation 
So you can lunge, stride, swirl
Across the galaxy
with hundreds, millions, trillions, of roads, lovers embraces, nations to explore. 
How do you think your scold trodden torso 
Responds to being hidden beneath a cotton cage, day and night, for nothing more than existing? 
One day animation will leave your limbs 
And as your spirit reflects
From a translucent daydream 
you will remember that the very thing that tried to teach you the meaning of love, femininity, and spirit 
you chose 
to cover up. 


Author Bio:
Lindsey Schaffer is a current undergraduate student at the College of Saint Benedict. When she is not reading or writing she enjoys perusing through museums, going on a long run, analyzing film, or listening to podcasts.She has a poem published in the literary magazine Surfaced as well as three articles published in The Mankato Free Press. 

If one day all the ice from the Himalayas to the Alps melt
Even then you are mine.
If one day Niagara Falls goes away to the Sahara
Yet you are mine.
If one day, there is not a drop of water left 
From the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean 
Still, then you are mine.
If one day the Ganges-the Danube-The Rhine-the Nile
Parch themselves,
Hitherto you are mine.
If one day, the Vesuvius and the Etna
Get the singed while burning continuously
Then, still, you are mine.
If one day, the third world war initiates to destroy the world,
Still, you are mine.
If one day, all the light forsakes the sun and the moon 
Then you are mine. 
If the snow in the Siberia ever nurtures green crops,
Yet, you are mine, and, still, you are mine.

Note: The Poem is influenced by the one line “You are mine” from the poem “In My Sky at Twilight” By Pablo Neruda. The farfetched imagery and the hyperboles are inspired by the poem “The Definition of Love” by Andrew Marvell. The poem presents a reverse view of Andrew Marvell which is pessimistic and platonic.


Author Bio:
Tabassum Tahmina Shagufta Hussein lives in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Born in Chittagong, Bangladesh, she was influenced by the natural beauty of Chittagong. Her liberal family background played a vital role in modern thinking. In her both SSC and HSC, she secured Position in the Merit list. But instead of pursuing traditional subjects to secure a lucrative career, she studied English Literature. After getting her MA in British and American Literature, she served as a faculty in the department of English in Private Universities. She likes a challenge and joined the corporate world later. And became head of training of HR Division. Now she is a freelance writer. She is aesthetic. She loves and breathes literature. She has an interest in art, painting, history, philosophy, theology, and psychology. She loves recitation and takes part in recitation programs regularly. Reading and traveling are her hobbies. She strongly supports equal rights, human rights, and intellectual property rights. She strongly believes in humility and civility. As a philanthropist, she tries to improve the educational system by serving as a member of the governing body of her hometown college. She is currently doing her second Masters in Human Resources Management. She loves to interpret literature and art with the colours of her mind. She regularly reads poetry and tries to write poems. She sees the beauty in everything. From twinkling stars to the blade of grass. Aestheticism is the essence of her existence. Some of her poems are published in online literary journals.