Say nothing
with your throat
let your eyes say
okay let your lashes
grant permission.
Say Look. Say Violet.
Say Here. Say
something with
your shoulders with
your hair with his hands
covering your knees. Say
thirsty as the water opens.
Say his mouth wanders
the walls tighten. Say he smells
like mint moved through wind—
how it soothes. By saying
nothing you do not say no.
Say nothing. Say Uncle.
Abriana Jetté is an internationally published writer whose work has appeared or is forthcoming in Public Books, Best New Poets, Teachers & Writers Magazine, PLUME, Tampa Review, and Poetry New Zealand, among others. She has been a Tennessee Williams Scholar at the Sewanee Writers’ Conference and has also received support from the Community of Writers at Squaw Valley and the Southampton Writers Conference. A two‑time finalist fellowship recipient from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts (Poetry 2023; Nonfiction 2024), Jetté currently serves as Editor‑in‑Chief of the Journal of Creative Writing Studies.