Love & Other Words, by Violet Lane Monchick 

Amongst love and other words, 

There are bubble gum tiles on a bathroom floor. 

I think because I stand here, suds and mountains overflow the tub. 

They lay before my feet as an outstretched hand asking for a dance. 

There is a rubber duck with a tiny top hat and he charms me. 

On the shore, somewhere named after a saint, 

I sit in the sand with a parasol, 

Thinking about butterscotch candies and church hats. 

Watering hydrangeas and sleeping when the sky is lilac, 

I think about lotions and hair curlers. 

These other words sit in the bottom of a glass cup, 

Or they are ice cubes which clink together sounding like a wedding toast. 

I don’t exactly have the mind to say them, 

Nor do I have the years. 

I have bread to feed pigeons and ducks. 

I have gifts to wrap with big red velvet bows. 

Someday it will be doves and maybe swans 

Who will tell me I am a girl who still has magic in her hands.

Journal Entry December 5th, 2023, by Violet Lane Monchick 

Today I saw leaves that looked like cheetah print. 

I seem to always find the wild in calm things. 

I'm like alcohol to a quiet girl, 

I like to think I can get her to dance and tell me secrets in the bathroom. 

Today I said the word, 

Out loud 

But I do not want to write it. 

Today I ate a sandwich and carried her half home, 

And this morning I didn't want to get out of bed. 

Why is it hard for me to write sometimes? 

-A bug just went up my nose 

I’m sorry.

Wishing is A Little Boy Named Lenny, by Violet Lane Monchick 

Wishing is a boy in a soft blanket. 

Animal crackers between layers of linen 

Light blue and white pajamas because he sleeps in the clouds 

Far away from loud cars, but there is a TV always humming a familiar song. 

Wishing is a red toy train because it is 

Sacred. 

Up and down my jeans, 

Which become train tracks, Christmas, late afternoon, a place where everything is just Right. 

When he is king, 

He will place stars on all our foreheads. 

A kiss goodnight, 

A good luck charm, 

We will hold our stars in little fists and wish for more stars. 

In this place there is a big hill 

Taller than every building, 

Taller than the really tall man at the grocery store 

An elephant sits at the top like a pharaoh balancing a ball on his trunk. 

Wishing is a lamp on a doily. 

I see her through a window, 

She sings to me in violin, piano, it trickles onto an empty street like a lazy river. 

And, when I’m really quiet- 

(I hear paper flipping) 

The boy carries all our stars in his pocket, leaving a trail of mist and peace through the schoolyard. A farm with horses 

Dusty, Blue, Lucky, Magic, Charlie. 

Tonight, he holds his star close to his heart 

He dreams of the elephant, a red toy train 

A place that feels like Christmas, 

A place where he is king.