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Major Depressive Disorder (Recurrent)

by Marissa Ahmadkhani

It’s driving through fog      it’s ocean salt
on skin      lungs underwater      ragged

breath      the light when waking      the cold
bathroom floor      it’s medication      stomach turning

a body creaking      a hasty goodbye      it’s avalanche
swollen eyes      sun hitting water      splitting lips

red with wine      a mouthful of blood      dirt
under fingernails      stale air warm and thick

the sun in your eyes      erosion
the biting cold      suffocating      sharp teeth

a fast grip      everything slipping
between      my fingers


Marissa Ahmadkhani holds an MA in English from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and is currently pursuing an MFA at the University of California Irvine. Her work has been published or is forthcoming in the minnesota review, Radar PoetryThe West Review, and poets.org, where she received the Academy of American Poets Prize in 2015 and 2017.