​in the hustle and bustle

By Constance Mello

I forget to think about the angle
of the light and the smell of concrete
tenderness of the clouds
of infinite expansion

While driving on the 5
I forget to look over to the right
where the mountains rise into the sky
and touch the line of light

but then, somehow,
on the commute back, between
the garage and the McDonald’s drive thru

the angle changes or the song
or the smell through the broken
A/C filter
​
– I am here, I am looking
at the changing of the light
at the crossroads of my life
at the moment in time

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Constance Mello (she/her) is a Brazilian scholar, writer, and teacher. She graduated with a degree in Cultural Studies and Gender Studies from the Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany, and is currently pursuing a dual Master’s Degree in English and Creative Writing. She writes about migration, identity, love, and loss, and has been published in The Ilanot Review, Fearless She Wrote, Latinx Lit Mag, and elsewhere.