There Are Four
by Rachel Bernstein
i. Danielle is an autumn morning.
Her skin is caramel, and her eyes are green like a granny smith apple.
Tired eyes when she has to wake up and the sky has not.
The sun’s rays as long as her legs.
And a folk song not nearly as good as her voice.
On an April night in two-thousand and sixteen,
I called her an opera.
I have never said anything quite as true.
ii. My mom is a summer afternoon.
her personality as warm as the sand on the beach.
She is coffee on an early morning and has the smile of a camp counselor
and an easy afternoon that says: “let’s order in”
On a July birthday night,
I told her I was thankful for her.
I have never said anything quite as true.
iii. Nan was winter night in the city.
Her cheeks were chilled with blush not winter’s bite
She was hot chocolate and a cozy holiday song.
There was a red lipstick rebelliousness to her
that still adored Shakespeare.
She had all the eagerness of a kitten in its first snowfall.
On a November morning,
I told her I was glad I was her “light”.
I have never said anything quite as true.
iv. I am a spring morning.
A nervous energy.
That tries to be chilled with blush, as warm as sand,
one that prays for my skin to be caramel and eyes as green as apples.
I hope to be coffee on a summer morning and to have the comfort of a holiday song,
I want legs as long as the rays of the sun.
On an April night, a birthday in July, and a November morning. . .
I have never said anything quite as true.
Family in Three Parts
by Rachel Bernstein
i.
I like to think the motto for the family goes something like:
“out of ashes emerges an angel
(watch out for paraphrasing and notion)”
The World is balanced
carefully
by a team of three.
They’re everywhere and nowhere
as the rest of us
cringe and wonder
if this is the time The World crumbles.
(Not to suggest that the team is bad.)
(Because they’re not.)
(It’s just. . .
it seems that world has come so close to falling so many times.)
And, you can tell that the weight is there
When The World they balanced grew heavier and heavier
with poking and prodding
and demands and needs and wants and the rest of us cried
for ourselves and for the team of three.
Because after a while, the ashes fell.
And there were two angels.
One was we
And one was The World.
ii.
the motto for the team of five made possible by the team of three,
goes something like: “I love you because you make me crazy.
(watch out for intelligence and smiles and teasing).”
The team of five is
gasoline and a match
wonder and magic
the sort of love that feels like kryptonite and an overflowing heart
Two is a boy that can move mountains with his mind,
who wants to be on a ship in the saltwater sea
And has the sort of manners that would make a southern gentleman jealous
Three is a girl that sees the world like a soup that she has to taste every bit of,
And has the sort of heart that expands so much
that I fear her chest will break.
Four is a girl that has a passion that is the envy of an issue-oriented politician
who loves so deep that it can sometimes cut her deeper.
The charisma and sarcasm of a comedian, the song voice that one longs to hear.
Five is one that has the laugh that makes others giggle along with her,
she cares for animals like they’re her lifeblood
And has an enviable sort of confidence.
I’m number one,
Number one as in firstborn.
The one that writes and writes and writes and reads and struggles and lives
And loves the team of five so much that my eyes water
The team of five.
Wide smiles, cozy hugs, jokes, laughs.
All marked with love by pink lipstick and tickled on the nose
By cashmere.
“I love you because you make me crazy.
(watch out for intelligence and smiles and teasing).”
iii.
There are times that I wish I were somewhere else.
I would be lying if I said something to the contrary
To wanting to be somewhere
Where the sun isn’t so hot
and the sidewalks are laden with cobblestones.
But then I’ll be somewhere hot with my team of three
And team of five.
The boy who moves mountains with his mind and the girl with
The abundance of passion and opinions
will be arguing
Over something that seems trivial to others
And the team of three will chime in with differing opinions.
Really? You believe that?
Of course, I do
Who do you think I am?
And everyone else will be laughing or staring
with agape mouths.
and I want to cry.
Because I have never known a love so deep.
So much so that my chest contorts and squeezes
and feels warm.
Like the way that I felt
when I was in a bay filled with jellyfish
and my arms getting burned
and I felt no fear.
none at all.
I was there struggling and living
as everyone splashed the other
as the sun set and the water was turning purple and light blue
and feeling grateful and at peace
and marked with pink lipstick and cashmere
with a heart lodged deep in my throat
and beauty and love pouring out of my ears and mouth.
as the semblance of The World was on the entire team of five’s
shoulders.
About the Author
Rachel Bernstein is a junior at the University of Southern California whose work has been featured in DASH and has won national and regional awards from the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. She’s probably watching television.