Mackenzie Cook (16)
queer love is a car crash
Her body thrummed on the bed of her daddy’s old truck
bones struggling to echo the way her freckled skin
glanced across the hot rubber, her back arching like banjo string—pulled.
I imagine my body as her body, thrumming, bruised spine slapping
the black bed—snapping
on impact—the harp I broke in seventh grade.
His middle finger thrummed against the wheel of his old truck
veins popping, struggling to stay intact as
they wiggled like cello strings in slow motion.
I imagine my fingers as his fingers, thrumming, sweaty fingernails slapping
the edge of the dash—snapping
on impact—rosin curling off my violin bow.
Our pulses thrummed on the roof of the junkyard pickup truck
limbs intertwined, struggling to remain quiet as
the new moon was a sound hole in the sky.
I imagine my pulse as our pulses, thrumming, aching bodies yearning
for touch—snapping
on impact—she taught me to play the electric guitar.
Mackenzie Cook is a junior attending Cy-Fair High School in Cypress, TX. She has previously been published in Midwestern University’s literary and arts magazine, Voices, and is forthcoming in CICADA. She also is head editor for her high school publication, Voices In Ink. You can find her gushing over poetry, monarchs and more on her Instagram, @absolutefluidity.
queer love is a car crash
Her body thrummed on the bed of her daddy’s old truck
bones struggling to echo the way her freckled skin
glanced across the hot rubber, her back arching like banjo string—pulled.
I imagine my body as her body, thrumming, bruised spine slapping
the black bed—snapping
on impact—the harp I broke in seventh grade.
His middle finger thrummed against the wheel of his old truck
veins popping, struggling to stay intact as
they wiggled like cello strings in slow motion.
I imagine my fingers as his fingers, thrumming, sweaty fingernails slapping
the edge of the dash—snapping
on impact—rosin curling off my violin bow.
Our pulses thrummed on the roof of the junkyard pickup truck
limbs intertwined, struggling to remain quiet as
the new moon was a sound hole in the sky.
I imagine my pulse as our pulses, thrumming, aching bodies yearning
for touch—snapping
on impact—she taught me to play the electric guitar.
Mackenzie Cook is a junior attending Cy-Fair High School in Cypress, TX. She has previously been published in Midwestern University’s literary and arts magazine, Voices, and is forthcoming in CICADA. She also is head editor for her high school publication, Voices In Ink. You can find her gushing over poetry, monarchs and more on her Instagram, @absolutefluidity.
