Capillary Action
Is when
the basement –
that’s where
we used to
keep clearance – floods,
and the water tastes
fabric, then climbs.
I didn’t
get biology until
I worked retail
and met Darwin
at the back
counter, where
I slid a
tagging gun’s
needle through
my thumb. The
hollow of the
thing filled with
blood fairly quickly.
the basement –
that’s where
we used to
keep clearance – floods,
and the water tastes
fabric, then climbs.
I didn’t
get biology until
I worked retail
and met Darwin
at the back
counter, where
I slid a
tagging gun’s
needle through
my thumb. The
hollow of the
thing filled with
blood fairly quickly.
–Lorren Richards
Lorren Richards is a Puerto Rican poet from Salem, New Jersey, and the recipient of the 2025 Philip. H. Wang Memorial Prize in Poetry. In their work, they most privilege connection and accessibility, hoping that their poetry can serve as a conduit for conversation and a soft place to land.