Cannon Event

Lindsay Sopko

Conversations are hard for me
in prose, and professionally.
My words trip—
                      ing over each other,

like twin toddlers vying for their mother’s attention,
or two corgis tangled in their tandem leash
for a winter Seaside stroll. We amble down the beach
cooing at them, and clasp clammy hands while our
voices are swept up by the December wind. Upon exhale
these forgotten murmurings scatter across
the      
                shore
      like
               seashells.
Except—you’re not a holiday beachcomber,
so they’ll never be picked up and deposited inside a tiny bottle
for safekeeping. They'll live here, and be lifted by foaming waves
from the sand, and be tossed back in the briny, bottomless sea
when the tide comes in.

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Lindsay Sopko
Lindsay Sopko is a poet, podcaster, and freelance journalist based in sunny San Diego. Previously published in The Corpus Callosum: Dreams & Nightmares, her poetry explores the intersection of mental health, sexuality, and the natural world. Lindsay holds a B.A. in English from Mary Baldwin University, and after serving in the U.S. Army, she decided to pursue an M.A. in Journalism from Emerson College. When not writing or studying, you can find Lindsay preparing for a 5K or starting (yet another) arts & crafts project. To see more of her work, please visit lindsaysopko.com.