i think if no one is obsessed with me soon i might wither away
blackberry liquid palms and
on a case by case basis requests to not /
no knowing grins and no lies for benefits and for
those things i am sorry, i’m

sunken and in need of love my
lover does not give me.
eleven drinks, silent pre-phrase pauses, what i’d
trade for corrections and wrong visions of what’s real
the requests i made are not fulfilled and the
things i wished for all are horribly disappointing

apple behind the eyes and tree sprouting good roots but would leave you to burn alive;
negligent to burn a house down, conscientious enough to plan for a birthday.
who am i if no one is in love with me?, –
clearly i am not good enough for myself this yet

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Ariana Eftimiu is a recent graduate of Barnard College, Columbia University, in New York City. When not writing, she is making a several-hour-long playlist on Spotify or on a long walk accompanied by a coffee and her loved ones. She has published work in the National Poetry Quarterly, Not Very Quiet, and the Columbia Daily Spectator, among other places.