she sat on the park bench

last night writing her words

about those stories with

the endings which

seem so complete

because she knows

the stories of

Orpheus and Eurydice

and the lengths of

his caring for

his love

because she sees

the love letters

her best friend

receives each

night and she

thinks of how

her own story

feels inadequate

because the greek myth

proves the distance

one will go for

another, the ways

in which the heart

can move so quickly

carried by a

good conscience

and she sat on the park bench

crossing out his name

as she realized he

would not move at

the same speed

she would have

if something was

not right.

___

ILANA DRAKE is a sophomore at Vanderbilt University studying Public Policy. She is a student activist and writer, and her work has been published in Ms. Magazine, PBS NewsHour, and XQ Institute. Her poetry has been seen in multiple journals and literary magazines. She is passionate about inclusion, cold brew coffee, and dialogue.