Jam

Elle Heedles

The building in the sun across the street is covered in lines.

My grocery list is full of Castlebrites and sugars. There are seasons to this.

I trust the lines that hold the fruits, the lines of my room, my body. There are

as many windows as there are ways to make do. Through each glass a woman stands at the stove.

Her name is Carla, and she’s waiting for the stores to open. It’s late. The chill on my skin

doesn’t bother me. For once I leave the window ajar overnight, to start anew

tomorrow. Berries erase themselves from the leaves.

Elle Heedles was born in Vienna, Austria to American parents, and received a B.A. in English literature from the University of Edinburgh. Their poems have appeared in Pain, The Inkwell, Adjacent Pineapple, and others, and are forthcoming in wet grain. They are currently based in Vienna.