Catwalk Through the Apartment, F.O.M.O., and House in Ink and Watercolor

Catwalk Through the Apartment

by Thatcher Gunnells

I come back at four, reeking

of that same peachy drink

and grease from the fryers.

It lingers on my hair, my

clothes, my futon, and even your

freshly licked fur coat. Holding you

still and scrubbing the alcohol

off of those tough-to-reach spots

is a problem for someone far more sober.

I stumble inside, a graceful pounce

through the doorway; your clumsy kitten

on his way to the fridge

for a drink. Like every time I open

the fridge, you sit right inside the open

door as I try to look for anything

to make me forget you again.

With a yowl, you let me know,

“I’ve stayed up all night

waiting for you!”

but the only thing I hear

over the dull buzz of intoxication

is the annoying order of another

gluttonous mouth to feed.

F.O.M.O.

by Thatcher Gunnells

I leave dry land and drag my limbs through the icy sea.

No matter how far I wade through the water, my friends’ tiny

forms are still obscured by waves crashing far too close for comfort.

Mimicking them, I try to jump the waves and let the undertow

drag me to their sides, but lose my balance and land face-first

into a crashing wave.

Which way is up?

The little air left in my lungs

gets knocked out of me with each new onslaught of water pressure.

I flail like a piece of trash being toppled by the raging current.

I kick against shell-scattered sand, and drag my tumbling

limbs out of harm’s reach. Thundering laughter

from the horizon line booms, and I stand

with my toes against freezing water,

refusing to swim towards hungry

sharks waiting to devour

me: the weakest fish

in our friend group.

Thatcher Gunnells is a Lycoming College senior, majoring in Creative Writing and Acting. Though his genre of focus is playwrighting, he enjoys writing other creative fiction and poetry centered around queer realism and mental illness. His most recent publication was a poem titled ‘9 to 5’ and was featured in last year’s Tributary.

House in Ink and Watercolor

by Ava Lindsay

Ava Lindsay, Class of 2027, has always loved doing art. While she is planning on making Astronomy her major, she wants to make 3D Animation her minor. She was an editor and contributor to a Literary Magazine for three years of Cyber High School at home (10^th grade to 12^th grade), and is willing to join Lycoming College’s Literary Journal.