Content Warning: Mention of flesh/blood

They call us synchronous

Definition:

existing or occurring at the same time.

Pixelated classmates exist intangibly—

presently muted.

Some wear emptiness

square barriers, dark pits

Hiding faces never to be known

No coffee or drinks or oh my god cute shoes

No sorry, I have a boyfriend…

Women’s Lit professor scoffs—

Sick male gaze nostalgia

but she is a cluster of RGB dots

like the rest of them. Do they carry the weight

of flesh and blood? I want to

turn to the girl beside me and ask

Do I have lipstick on my teeth? I want her

to offer me a ride and

see if she leaves trash on the passenger floor. I want

to be given her number. Not to text,

but to treasure. A trophy, archived in contacts.

Proof of contact. Evidence of being noticed.

Synchronized swimming, synchronized dance

Synchronous isolation.

Alesandra M. Caroline

Alesandra M. Caroline currently lives in Mount Vernon, Washington with her wonderfully wild four-year-old named Fiona and her cattle dog mix Malcom Reynolds. She is a thirty-one-year-old Freshman at Western Washington University working towards a Creative Writing major and an Illustration Certificate from Design. Using poetry, storytelling, paint, graphite, and digital art mediums to explore her view of the world, Alesandra delves into neurodiversity and mental health, trauma and happiness, and the sometimes unsettling yet radiantly whimsical world that lives within her mind. In her spare time, she can be found playing Dungeons and Dragons with some of her favorite people, throwing dress up parties in her living room, or staring at a blank wall listening to Regina Spektor and questioning her existence. You can find more of her work on Instagram @artbyalesandra.