i lie still in a dark room
comforter pulled over me
a quiet wind whispering outside
my leg is folded under me
ankle behind my knee
and the dog has her head on my thigh
her butt tucked under my armpit
and as i lay there quietly
i think about someone far away from me
sleeping in a forgotten past
under trees that were chopped down centuries ago
a boy like me
a hunting wolf laying beside him
trying to fall asleep

Presented by McKenna Graf ’26 and Literary Magazine