Pythia

Stephanie Chang

Mantras tumble back onto the roll of ocean
some miles away, where the city has sunken

but still licks at a warm corpse. Salivating
sweetness. Legend without survivors or

legend of cicadas savoring
charred flesh or summertime’s mouth

chewing holes into cathedrals. One eye
to watch the city stitch itself

into scar tissue. One lung to hold
the flowers blooming in the afterglow.

Stephanie Chang is fifteen years old and attends high school in Vancouver, BC.