Sustenance

wild and bitter breeding
forged your gypsy soul
a birth beneath
blood red sunsets
earth spouting
domesticated sweetness
into my
waiting mouth
the taste of you like
amplified honeydew
voice seeded velvet
only I can touch
like the sound of
mid-November snow
thrumming against
my window
skin burnt sublime
sweat-tangled
and raw
my love for you
a migration
of white-feathered flesh
on your doorstep
honey-starved and
waiting

Audra Burwell is a dedicated writer, poet, and communications professional with a passion for creative expression and community engagement. She earned her BA in Creative Writing from California State University, Fresno, and is currently pursuing a MFA in Creative Writing with a specialization in poetry. In her professional role as Communication Coordinator at College Bridge, a nonprofit organization committed to increasing college access and success for underrepresented students, Audra combines her love for storytelling with her commitment to making higher education more accessible.

Audra’s work has been featured in over thirty journals and magazines, including New Note Poetry, Palaver Journal, Flora Fiction, Deep Overstock, and Snapdragon Journal, among others. Her poetry has also been highlighted on the DO Fiction Podcast. A member of the Sigma Tau Delta English Honor Society, Audra has contributed to the literary world through her leadership in workshops at the Young Writers Conference and her editorial roles with Spectrum Journal, The Normal School, and the Philip Levine Prize for Poetry.