03132026 10:52am [sabo]

PoetrySilly Summer
Written By Mikayla Coleman

tonight i am going to deplete myself in the name of joy 
i am going to 
see myself only in the reflection of sunglasses 
warped in third person slithering through 
the bulbing eye of a shop mirror
i am going to forget the shape of my body 
all arms and hair and flesh 
and flail aimlessly, sporadically
rid myself of the disappointment 
i have been soaking in

its sweat 
its sweat 
its sweat now

artist’s note: starting as a way to organize drafts of poems while completing my mfa, the inclusion of time and date stamping in the title of a work has become a sort of maker’s mark of my poetry. this visual organization allows me to maintain an archive of artistic stimulus and offers what feels like, to me, a unique sort of artistic transparency. 

Mikayla Coleman

Mikayla Coleman (she/her/hers) is an interdisciplinary artist and writer local to Eugene, Oregon. She received a BA in English and Art & Design from Western Oregon University and a MFA in Creative Writing & Poetics from University of Washington Bothell. Mikayla is an Associate Poetry Editor & Staff Writer at The Vagabond’s Verse literary magazine. Her written work is included in The Vagabond’s Verse, Lurch Zine, and Prickly Pear Magazine. Mikayla’s recent poetic and artistic work focuses on perceiving and interacting with the world through a neurodivergent, feminine lens, often including visual or interactive elements. She is fascinated by the ways that poetic and artistic expression overlap, as well as all things analog, tactile, and mixed-medium

https://mikaylacoleman.com
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