Second love

by Tori D’Amico


All I know is your crooked front tooth
your granny smith eyes looking far away.
I didn’t know then to commit your laughter to memory.
The only night I had the privilege
of holding you, I wish now I hadn’t slept
and instead asked about your mother
so I knew more than just your favorite animal.

I am lying on my back. Look
into an endless expanse 
of sky so empty I see the dust
swimming on the surface of my eye.
I’m glad you didn’t go too far

you see the same rising lavender 
over a different mountain.
I’d scratch a lotto ticket every day
if it meant I had the money

to be with you
and do nothing else.




Tori D’Amico is a senior communications major with a concentration in journalism and a minor in creative writing. While her core studies were in news writing, her free time was constantly filled with poetry and prose. Most recently, she completed her honors thesis with a ten-poem collection titled “Everything was vermillion.” After graduation, Tori hopes to continue dedicating time to writing poetry and perhaps one day making it a full time career.