Issue 6
By Haeun (Regina) Kim
To Quake
the Earth rumbles, still and
silent and slithering. its
muscles stretch, quivering
like a leopard’s as it lies in wait.
her flank ripples, stalks of grass
fluttering on smooth, dry skin
in the downwind. her breast rises
and falls: her breath
rises and falls. ants Ants
ants crawl on her back, worming their
way through her mane
as they settle
and take root, to feed or to flower.
her pelt reverberates, as if
to the drum of her lungs, and
she growls low and slow.
nose twitches,
hind legs bunch, and
she falls, mid-pounce.
Haeun (Regina) Kim is a student writer from Seoul, South Korea. An alumna of the Adroit Journal Summer Mentorship, the Sewanee Young Writers' Conference, and the SUNHOUSE Summer Writing Mentorship, she has been recognized by Bennington College, the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, Bow Seat, and more. Her writing has been published or is forthcoming in Rust & Moth, Diode Poetry Journal, and The Weight Journal, among others. When not writing, she enjoys art and amateur ballet.