wishing through the night

by Carina Solis

i.

i’ve fallen in love 

with the bones 

poking through 

your ribcage;

and your back, 

the way 

your scars unravel you

like a secret;

and your shoulders

weighted with 

the sky,

how they slope

from darkness

to dawn.

ii.

an airplane swoons 

into the left chamber 

of my peeling heart;

below, a boy walks

in a song of lanterns.

i watch him 

gleam in the glow 

and then, 

melt away. 

the night is almost 

gone now;

i count my wishes.

Carina Solis is an African-American writer from Georgia. Her work has been recognized in Teen Ink, the Ice Lolly Review, the National Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, the Georgia River of Words, and the New York Times Summer Reading Contest, among others. She is also an editor at Polyphony Lit, an intern at Young Eager Writers, and a mentee at Ellipsis Writing. She is fifteen years old.