Sagitta

sagitta (saˈd͡ʒit.ta):

1) a dim, distinct constellation in the northern sky
2) root of “sagittal suture”, the seam connecting left and right parietal bones of skull
3) latin for “arrow”
4) keystone of an arch

​also, sagitta:
the dot between my integers and their floating points
those anodyne remainders from years of meticulously
dividing my body into smaller and smaller portions to give to you

once i asked if you wanted some champagne and you said
“yes, but i’m gonna wanna put a bunch of shit in mine”
and one of my sagittas flickered out
Sagitta, is an embrace but a vice grip justified by its generosity?

Sagitta’s lover is hunching, holding down
the arches pressing them down
all the way down while sagitta blinks like
a low battery*
Sagitta, you are your own linchpin. redistribute your downward force, you go gitta.

see also sagittating:
verb. temporarily unzipping
the sagittal suture to allow the
brain to continue to grow normally;
e.g.,
that street-walk clarity
country girl in the city high
sagittating
bullseye


*this is not a cyborg metaphor. i am not a robot girl, just a series of anatomic landmarks in search of sagittal bliss.

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Amy Smith is a writer and researcher living in San Francisco, California. She was born and raised in Florida. A geographer by training, she currently works as a data scientist and makes maps in her spare time. Her poetry has previously appeared in the Haight Ashbury Literary Journal, Cathexis Northwest Press, and Sparkle & Blink.