Nest Call
︎︎︎ Dani Narins
︎ May 1, 2025
I dye my bloodstained pink silk purse black
and I am struck by how easy it is to mask
my sinning, to suffer
no consequences
ruin becomes beauty becomes nighttime
the darkness in my chest winks up at me
my heart beats in my stomach and
the air smells of vinegar
your hair, also black
slips through my fingers
soft like downy feathers
a baby bird
“not this time” you promised in a
whisper of a dream
we both smile
we both know it is a lie but
soak up the sweetly sad
tenderness
between us
in pretending
it is not
and I am struck by how easy it is to mask
my sinning, to suffer
no consequences
ruin becomes beauty becomes nighttime
the darkness in my chest winks up at me
my heart beats in my stomach and
the air smells of vinegar
your hair, also black
slips through my fingers
soft like downy feathers
a baby bird
“not this time” you promised in a
whisper of a dream
we both smile
we both know it is a lie but
soak up the sweetly sad
tenderness
between us
in pretending
it is not
Dani Narins studied creative writing at NYU and almost graduated. She works in music and still writes occasionally.