Amanda Conover

pearls

I am watching a video about oysters,
how they only produce pearls under
pressure, probably in pain. I wonder
if humans create anything worthwhile
while stuck in cycles of stress.
If they do, I’d have an assortment
of silver stacked inside of my head.
 
Some from being pulled out of Erie’s rocky
waters, my home sea. I left at seventeen,
stepdad, mom, and sister sitting in
a Honda CRV for eight hours along with two
pomeranians and two calicos, me willing
my face to remain salt-free like the lake
we left. I knew no other home, was a crab
dragged south to scorch in the heartless sun.

Amanda Conover is a queer writer based in North Carolina. She serves as the poetry editor for Carolina Muse Literary and Arts Magazine and holds an undergraduate degree in Creative Writing. Her poetry has appeared in places such as the Extinction Rebellion Creative Hub and Bridge: The Bluffton University Literary Journal. Find her on social media @amandamconover.