"Do Not Be Concerned And Other Poems" by Elaysa Deaver
if you see me swallow boiling water
or hover my hands over steam
this is normal
i’m a cold-blooded creature
if you see me huddled by an active volcano
cheering on the eruption and chasing the
lava flows downhill
it’s okay i’m not going to touch it
just barely
i might dip my toes in
i can’t help but worship whatever keeps
me warm
if you see me catch sparks on my
tongue like snowflakes
it’s only to revive myself from the inside
savor the way heat seeps through me
but it’s never enough
the warmth leaves me too soon, leaves me
in a serrated chill like always
not this time
I am going to set myself on fire and if
you love me you will add kindling
"a last resort microcosm" by Elaysa Deaver
instead of burning down my house i left the windows open
the rain arrived in torrents and the carpet drank it in
i cultivated fungus in all its friendly forms
let it feed on the ruins of my apathy
the humid breeze lets in a fresh supply of oxygen
for me and all the shrooms I have collected
my plants have thrived on the decay
remaking all this mangled clutter into something new
that doesn't need electricity, only rain and space
lightning bugs become my own small galaxy
the moss feeds on the water dripping through the jungle roof
blanketing the vines and roots that hug the floor
the furniture lies buried under my deliberate green shrines
and mold and mildew have made my lungs their home
the open windows let in all the quiet things that glow
and finally moss begins to grow on me
so I can share its green, its softness
our slow victory
moss: it’s carpet that loves you
Elaysa Deaver is a student at Lipscomb University who is obsessed with moss. They enjoy getting lost in the woods and would like to befriend a squirrel one day. They are currently working with frogs to defeat their ultimate nemesis, paperwork.