Nicole Emmelhainz - Foliate Oak Literary Magazine
Dares to Wonder There
by Nicole Emmelhainz 


 she tricks

            her       body

into stillness

            her       skin

into careful

           petals

clung close around

the stigma

at night

           wound

with wait

           yet softly

                               humming

for that first
                        ripple

for that next

                       breath

she learns to

                       draw

this moment

                                  out

she learns to
                        feel

small pockets

of her lungs

soft bristled sepals

                        open

for the first

                        time

she learns to love

the sound of blood

as it stirs

                        through

                                    her       body


it happens

            in the

                                    pause

between breaths:
Nicole Emmelhainz is an Assistant Professor of English at Christopher Newport University, where she teaches various writing-intensive classes, including creative nonfiction and poetry. She holds a PhD in Writing History and Theory from Case Western Reserve University and an MA in Creative Writing from Ohio University.