I straightened a stubborn wave

by Mary Kate Nyland

I straightened 

a 

stubborn wave.

I flattened

a

fault line.

I starved

a

stark, bucknaked child,

strapped braces to her

legs and set her down

the straight and narrow.

and then

I squeezed top and toe

between

hydraulics, squeezed through

the

moving pathway

between

its vinyl gridlock,

my

hair curly

my

ellipses swelling.

Mary Kate Nyland is an Irish American writer, currently pursuing a Master's degree in Creative Writing from University College Dublin. Her work focuses on questions of gender, relationships, and technology.