The aches in your back spread in springtime,
breaths caught in each twist. What have I
been? you must ask me. The sheen in
your eyes stolen by dark, it punches
circles onto bone maps, on pelvis,
ribs. I will write you, I offer.

Enjoy this audio recording of “Fissure” by Elisabeth Preston-Hsu from Vol. 34:2 of CALYX Journal! Buy your copy here!

Elisabeth Preston-Hsu’s writing has been published in Bellevue Literary Review, Chicago Quarterly Review, Dillydoun Review, MacQueen’s Quinterly, and elsewhere. She was runner-up in North American Review’s Hearst Poetry Prize 2022, judged by Natalie Diaz. She is a physician in clinical practice in Atlanta, GA. Find her on Instagram @writers.eatery.