ingredients:

i. one crushed yellow rosebud
ii. four broken sticks of eyeliner
iii. a pink candle
iv. six brown glass shards
v. the pair of lungs you pulled out
for her last spring
vi. a piece of paper
vii. a black marker

in the flame of the candle
burn the rosebud and eyeliner
when the mixture cools stuff them
in your lungs followed by the glass
and try not to cry (it makes the breathing harder)
with the marker remember the song
that reminds you of her
write down her name in the lyrics
and swallow that too

pray to whatever goddess you think will listen
remind her of the rocks between your toes and
the blisters between your fingers and ask her to
fill the nest she’s made of your rotted heart
with
something smooth
something familiar
something lost

wait for the voice to
come after midnight
listen
until it sounds
like it loves you again

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Mia Vodanovich is a Bay Area English instructor and poet who wishes she’d had more time to eat lumpia with her grandmother. Follow her on Instagram @the_galacticmermaid