“Ingrid”

by Constance Mello

I wonder if you sit 

by the pool, in the shade

with your jaw locked.

do you still see him?

out the window on the

right are the hydrangeas

i don’t remember whether 

they are blue or pink

he once took me fishing

but there was no hook

only little lumps of dough 

“get the fish to trust you” 

do you miss him

when the light catches the water

or when the water catches the light?

like diamonds 

like any other river life

flows like wine and 

the cabinet smells like him

like semolina 

the tears over the phone 

when I was ten years old 

you looked at his favorite tree 

and it whispered 

Constance Mello (she/her) is a Brazilian scholar, writer, and teacher. She graduated with a degree in Cultural Studies and Gender Studies from the Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany, and is currently pursuing a dual Master’s Degree in English and Creative Writing. Her writing has been published in The Ilanot Review, Fearless She Wrote, and The Ascent, and was a finalist in the Tucson Festival of Books Literary Awards.