Oasis. Poem by Neal Shetty

you paid the nurse with

pesos, sat the newborn girl

on a lotus and called her the buddha.

 
i swore you were insane

but you said that’s alright

solstices always come in groups of three-

: : : : : :
 

the first is the summer

when the sun is at its highest point and you

are manic and we are stuck in the highest

gear, the gears of this bicycle stopped

working when you stopped pedaling–

your kickstop is broken and you fall onto

the highway but at least the white woman

across the street with the crooked nose was not

a doll.
 

because in the morning you hope you’ll wake up

next to one and snatch an alka-seltzer;

set the child down at the baby chair in the

korean restaurant where you

order bibimbap and burn your tongue. snap a picture.

the beach is empty from the chemical spill

but you can still walk the dog on the sand.

 
: : : : : :
 

the second is the winter

when the sun is at its lowest point

the single ring around jupiter, the arms

of the girl who does not have a navel

or a menarche

fits so certainly around her neck

like jewelry

or a noose.

 
you can drag yourself

back to the house gods

and prostrate at the feet

of your ancestors.
 

but can you hear the

click of a gun that has run out

of bullets-

moonlight and moon ice

because there is still water in space

so we can swim along

in the galaxy.

: : : : : :
 

the third is you–

the dying embers

of a hope long past-
 
 

 
Neal Shetty is a 17 year-old writer based currently in the Detroit area, which has provided him with insight into both social and personal paradigms which influence much of his writing. Raised in a library, besides poetry, he also enjoys the study of classical languages and novels told out of order. He hopes that his writing accurately reflects the space that he lives in.