“North Carolina II.” by Natalia Blooming

The flowers that line the valley streams,
Rhodendrums that kiss the rivers.
The mist that hid your eyes:
You were the north side of the mountain.
I huddle in the mud and rotten leaves,
Telling myself how much I love you.
Yet I can’t help but be afraid of
How icy you make me feel.
Chin deep in clear cold water,
I hold myself under.
The feeling of numbness
Takes my body,
Feels tender.
This water feeds the streams that run through the heart of the ancient lowlands.
You keep making me afraid of you
Although I love you too much
And I wish there was a place
That you didn’t have to be so vindictive.
If a scene this beautiful can’t even starve your shadow,
Then what’s the point?

Natalia Blooming is an artist and poet from McDonough, Georgia. She pursues art and poetry as a form of storytelling and is currently concerned with the fabric of her upbringing and the concept of identity as it relates to the home, physical spaces, and relationships. Her poetry is a way she processes emotions and deals with change and she considers it a way she explores her own narrative.