DONNA
STEINER
Donna Steiner’s writing has been published in literary journals including The Sun, Fourth River, Radar Poetry, Under the Gum Tree, Brevity, and Stone Canoe. A chapbook, Lost and Found in Ocean County, New Jersey, was published in 2020 from Tolsun Books. Another chapbook, Elements, was released by Sweet Publications.
AQUARIUM
Visual Poem
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PTSD
The Imax screen rises and curves like a sail and the sound feels internal like you have no membrane the way the engine entered your skull, chthonic and never-ending, and the screen is a wave rising but when you try to look up the tilt of your head catches you, the memory of looking higher and higher and how can water be above us? and you are falling into the abyss of a movie theater chair and the girl you will marry turns and smiles. (She bought the tickets, surprise, a fun afternoon, what could go wrong?) You are not on the ship there is no danger the therapist said breathe against the clamor said where do you think they are now said yes they suffered said this is your life.
Everyone is looking up at the screen,
waiting
for what comes next.