nick leininger / poem

Séance

She sees sinister snakes. She sees sinister snake silhouettes standing still, shading skin stained staccato. She speaks sheik, sleek, souring sounds, she speaks softly since she sings spectacular sonnets.

She sings sorrowful songs staring sideways, she sings, she sins, she smiles, she swells, sweating, she swallows sunsets. She swallows sadness. She stays silent since she sings séances secretly.

She swallows sorrow, she swallows shame, she’s shimmering. She’s shivering, she’s seasick, seaside.

She somehow sees strangers, sometimes she sees spirits, she sees soulless subservient servants serving serpents. She’s seen seething, she’s somber, she’s selfless, she stands straight seeing stars.

Seeking solitude she sleeps. She’s striking, she’s sunken sunlit sand.

She swallows shame shaping shadows. Somewhat satisfied, she’s still sad.

---

Nick Leininger is a DC poet originally from West Chester, Pennsylvania. Nick graduated from American University in 2017 with a bachelor's degree in Public Relations and Strategic Communications. Nick's work is featured in Bleakhouse Publishing, Burgeon Online, Day Eight, The Mid Atlantic Review, Wingless Dreamer, Wildsound Writing Festival, and Solstice Magazine. Nick’s poems explore the relationship between race and class, love and faith, and mental illness. He hopes his poems can cause readers to explore new perspectives and garner compassion for the marginalized.