by LE Francis
Evidence of Emotion
says the human news after noticing an orca
who swims 1000 miles carrying her child,
dead shortly after birth, under watch by
orca community who share the weight
through wave after wave of mourning.
The salmon they eat are endangered.
Meanwhile, the humans continue fishing.
The day that a nine year relationship ends,
the expression I wear is a rough stone face
tossed smooth by ocean. With nothing left
to revive, I swim through four years, slowly
gathering new family as my mask erodes.
Tonight, I wipe tears that the propagated
monstera drips onto the living room floor.
Leaves outstretched like hands fishing
in the dark for the quiet memory,
floating between dust motes, of light
carried on the back of another morning.
lae astra (they/them) is a queer trans artist and writer who calls Tokyo home. Their work appears or is forthcoming in fifth wheel press, Strange Horizons, manywor(l)ds, ANMLY, and elsewhere. They are currently befriending the neighborhood crows, and they love taking walks in the green spaces that exist in their city and beyond. Find them at laeastra.com/links.
LE Francis (she/her) is a writer, visual artist, & musician living in the pacific northwest. She is a former arts journalist & the current managing editor of Sage Cigarettes Magazine. She is a staff writer & illustrator for Cream Scene Carnival. She is a co-host & editor of the Ghost in the Magazine podcast. Find her online at nocturnical.com. Twitter @nocturnical & Instagram @n0cturnical.