POETRY

stranded on the shoulder of ny-79

By AISHVARYA ARORA  |  18 JUN 2025

persistent rain dials our car’s hood, fingering metal till it rings & rings
reaches us. like me, the storm wants this, this branching symphony of my love’s

racy observations. the song of her making rhythms my hands smacking
my thighs as i laugh at her jokes, each inside joke a headlight spangling

across our pooling conversation. how wheels growl in gathered water we
spin still & awaken imogen next to you my desire

to gossip becomes a taste i lick my lips for. you, my love
& not my lover, you kind receiver of my un-varnished facts. my dear, life

the flame you run fingers through to impress me.

Aishvarya Arora is a poet from Queens, NY. Their collection, Mr. Time, was selected by Diannely Antigua as the winner of the Gold Line Press Poetry Contest and will be published in 2026. They’ve received support from the Fulbright Program, Tupelo Press's Merrill Family Fellowship, and the Asian American Writers’ Workshop, where they were a Poetry Coalition Fellow. Their poetry is featured in, or forthcoming from, Poetry Northwest, The Hopkins Review, The Margins, Foglifter, Apogee, and elsewhere. Find them online at coolslug.wordpress.com.

RELATED ARTICLES

POETRY

Dignity

By CASS DONISH

We spooned
out avocados beside lakes, // I licked pink salt from your nape, /
drew the shapes of continents
on your back

POETRY

Daydreaming of Chris Hemsworth

By DERRICK AUSTIN

Coarse sheets, rose quartz on an altar. None of this belongs to me. / Rain softens everything outside, white flowers become foam. / You cleaned yourself with my shirt.

POETRY

Drama

By STEPHANIE CAWLEY

This could be my play where I am watering my sibling’s tomato plants in the morning and the play is / me thinking about you watching me water the tomato plants, which you aren’t doing.