September 4th, 2020
Star-Crossed
I could not trace circles over her thumb
when I held her hand in mine, for I was frozen;
bewitched by her
laugh during the Pixar movie.
If her lipstick had stained my mouth,
it would have tasted sweeter than chocolate eggs or fudge.
She was the first to leave me
properly smitten in the way I always longed
to be, but another date is out of the question in this plague-
stricken world. The dawn of spring brought
isolation.
I text her from indoors.
Makenzie Beckstead is a college sophomore studying English Education at Utah Valley University. She serves as a reader for Wintermute Lit and dabbles in espionage (but shhh, don't tell anyone). Her work has appeared in potted purple and is forthcoming in Kalopsia Literary Journal. "Star-Crossed" was inspired by the first date she had with her girlfriend before being quarantined due to the COVID-19 pandemic.