Holly Mitchell

E.M. Forster

I meet a friend,
the new century unsprung.
I eat violets in my backyard, spinning stems
on my young Cambridge tongue.

At a slight angle to the universe,
I ride the tram through Alexandria,
emptying my travel purse
until the conductor brings me a dahlia

and the holiness of direct desire.
With him, I approach the garden
of Eden. In the connective mire
of dreams, I wrench the gate open.






Holly Mitchell currently studies at Mount Holyoke College. Her poems have appeared in several places, including Pluck! and Still. She is a 2012 recipient of the Gertrude Claytor Award from the Academy of American Poets.