My Brain is a Walnut

Here, my legs twin mountain peaks.

My brain a walnut;

lungs churn altitude air;

tendons stretchy taffy.


I sun-dry.  I raisin.  I sunday.

I beetroot.  I prune.  I bluejay.

I trail mix.  I daisy.  I today.

I muse.  I june.  I milky way.


Palms two medjool dates, split open.

I jitterbug. I moxie. I kennybunk.


My brain is a walnut;

elbows rest on leaves of grass,

muscles spongy moss;

jaw chews saltwater taffy.



Holly Michelsen is graduating university this May, having studied creative writing and psychology. Originally from Long Island, New York, she now spends most of her time in Maine where she is often inspired to write poetry that examines the beauty and strangeness of nature. She has a flash essay forthcoming in the undergraduate literary magazine Gandy Dancer.