Zoochosis/Graduation Day

by Eleanor Hardy

there is a bubble
pulsing and smoky inside
it lives in the kitchen
above the compost
and as my roommates
teeth sharpen
the smoke inside gets denser
it’s pulsating rhythm gets quicker
what is it called when
the bears at the zoo
pace over and over
sun-hot plastic
rocks unfocused eyes
looking but not looking
and are we all pacing
the same way without
really knowing it
the static that sends
stray hairs skyward
contained in the bubble
sends us wheezing
like radon or lectures
it is not supposed to be here
it is not supposed to live like this
the bubble shakes and wobbles
waiting for the needle
that pops it

I am a multimedia artist from Oshkosh. I graduated from Lawrence University this spring, and I’m currently teaching literacy to 8th graders.