once, I locked
myself out of the house
and tried to crawl
through the dog
door. halfway into
the laundry room I
looked up
and saw the washing
machine from all
fours. I couldn’t
get through. so I
sat by the door
for hours with you
by my side and
picked through the
books in the garage
such as the children’s
bible and the wizard
of oz. back against
the door, I realized
what it is like
to be stuck on the
outside
of the place
you call home.

---

Cassie Lipton is a poet currently based in Nashville, Tennessee. She is a graduate of the University of Virginia and has work appearing or forthcoming in Vellichor Literary, Prosetrics, and Flowermouth Press. In 2023, she was the second place winner of the One Page Poetry Contest.