Backless
How do you find
the spine of a fish?
she asks me
Is it in the faces of the girls?
as they stand
straight,
packed
sardines
We wait all summer for this: the spotlight
reflecting off our lips
and hair, gel
and blood, music interchangeable with bubbling thunder.
Michelle with the tiger tattoo
that reaches across her hip bones
tells us how to fold our legs like
lawn chairs so that
moment when I dive
in,
shark fishing
in the deep-end,
I becomes we and
we becomes she,
and I, a mechanic force,
hold my breath.
Mia Dimina
Mia Dimina is a poet from Arlington, Virginia. She recently won a silver national medal from the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. An alumna of UVA and Iowa young writer programs, she is entering her junior year of high school as an art and photo editor of her school’s literary magazine. You’ll find Mia spending her free time on her porch, curled up with a Donna Tartt novel or experimenting with various art mediums.