Title: On Closing the Door

Creator: Grace Zoerner

Category: Space

Creator Commentary:

One of the greatest, most paradoxical illusions of humanity lurks beneath all of our relationships: the truth that though we are biologically inclined to form relationships, we are all absolutely, ultimately alone, and that we must learn to be satisfied with ourselves in our singularity—despite how close we may feel to those with whom we are intimate. When evaluating space on an anatomical level, we realize that our atoms are mostly empty space, and some scientists argue that you can never actually touch anything or anyone. We’re usually just too close to each other to feel this space. But in certain circumstances and certain actions, we can suddenly feel the space between us amplified—think of when someone is at your house, and then they leave, and you close the door on their back and realize so abruptly that you are, again, and as always, alone. I wrote this poem about my long-distance boyfriend specifically, and though we have a strong, loving, and healthy relationship, thinking too long about the space between us can put me in a dark place. I’ve written him many love poems, but I wanted to do this darker place justice, too, and that is the mindset I was in when I wrote this poem.

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Creator Bio:

Grace is a freshman Creative Writing major with a minor in Psychology. As an aspiring author, she loves to read novels, poetry, plays and creative nonfiction — and she knows most of Edna St. Vincent Millay’s poem Renascence by heart. She’s also passionate about theater, dance, and coffee. In her adulthood, she wants to travel the world and write.