Kept around the corner is a monster of its own making
It keeps a bottle, a can, a drink in its reach
Never missing a drop, stumbling for another
Cries are all it has, weeping, angry, joyous tears

And yet there’s a pity to be had

Adapt to the times of when it’s aching
It reaches for a lonesome hand to hold
No one is there, pushed away, grab another
Mad drops fall from its eyes

And yet it asks for another glass

Wrapped within its own misery, heart breaking
It reaches out, pleas for a change
Not a drop for days and days
The tension builds, the fear explodes, again wetted eyes

“And yet I tried?” 

But children will always be scared of monsters.

Biography: Josephine Yockim is a poetry and fiction writer as well as an avid movie watcher and theatergoer. They can be found overanalyzing songs, paragraphs, and scenes in anything, and everything, they consume. Yockim’s favorite books are The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer, and There There by Tommy Orange, and their favorite movies feature 500 Days of Summer, Nosferatu, and Fight Club. Cowboy is a constant companion and loyal editor in Yockim’s life. He can be found loafed up in the window while Yockim blabs at him over an aggravating plot hole or any word to rhyme with orange. This is their first, hopefully of many, publications. Although their poetry is eerie and heart-achy, and their stories are full of nostalgia, they mainly like to write short romances and sci-fi dystopias. They are currently working on a few short stories and a novel. They are an Aims Graduate this Spring 2025 with an Associate of Arts and plan to take their chances at UNCO to pursue a B.A. in Writing, Editing, and Publishing.