Entanglement

Jackie Knowlton

You forgot my birthday on monday
I didn't mind
I'm celebrating today
pretending it is the first day of the month and this is the first sunrise I've ever seen
I eat bagels on the sand
warm dough hugs my insides
and I feel grateful for the space before me
how my edges are bleeding gold
the space between every finger, a swimming pool of fire
I feed my skin to the salt water rich tidal pools
as my feet become encased in sludge
tethers me closer and closer to the center of the Earth
vibrations of her waves tickle my core
I kiss sand dollars
find them more clever than I am and as the outline of my favorite coin
fondles my palm
I submerge her in the waves
and don't tell her goodbye

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Jackie Knowlton
Jackie Knowlton is currently a student at the University of North Carolina at Asheville, where she is studying Creative Writing and French. She served as a design editor and poetry editor for the 2025 issue of Headwaters, UNC Asheville’s literary magazine. She was a runner-up for the Top-Grillot poetry scholarship and works as a course ambassador for the French department at her school. Her writing tends to focus on the female experience, and she hopes to empower women through her writing. Originally from Apex, North Carolina, she enjoys spending time in the great outdoors, wandering through art museums, and she loves animals.