The Mess We Are Together

by Paige Volovnik

Who are we

to sleep bone to bone?

to bleed our hearts dry?

to breathe into each other's lungs?

But we do it anyway

for the sake of young love

or whatever our families would call it now.

And the sake of each other

And our minds

And our sanity

And our souls.

And we will continue to do it

even if it’s just in the early morning when you leave for work

or one day a week

or just in passing.

And we won’t stop

until death does us part

when we die in old age

or in a car crash side by side

both of us, at the same time.

And even if one dies before the other

the second would die from heartbreak

like in movies or books.

And we know that’s how it’ll go.

No matter what they say.

No matter what we say.

We know who we are together.

We are each other in reverse,

or in compliment, like sides of a coin.

And together, we are us

No one could tell me otherwise.

And we won’t break.

Paige Volovnik ‘24 majors in English and communication and minors in women, gender, and sexuality studies. In her free time, she spends a lot of time playing board games and reading Bridgerton.