Understanding by Matti Gleason (Oregon, 25)

It is the look in another woman’s eyes
when you tell her that it has finally happened to you.
The story we’ve heard countless times,
of the monsters with angel faces,
of the night we all dread.
​
It is an unspoken conversation;
she won’t interrupt you, but
you know she understands.
Because you look into her eyes,
and see that she has the same
story to tell.

​

Matti lives in Eugene, Oregon, and when she is not writing poetry you can find her wandering aimlessly outside with her Bernese mountain dog. She is working on her debut chapbook, which she hopes to publish soon, and her work appears or is forthcoming in The Raven Review and Stone Pacific Zine.