Guilt

Butter-colored, orange-tinged
tulips at park’s edge.
Slanted, the wind
gently nudges
their gaze from the sky.
Mute mouths
opening further as day’s
new warmth triumphs.
Yellow-tongued, silent song.
Spring is here.
Your depression should be gone.

Sarah Seybold’s poetry and prose are published or forthcoming in Alaska Quarterly Review, Chicago Quarterly Review, LIT Magazine, ZYZZYVA, Arts & Letters, The Indianapolis Review, Great River Review, and elsewhere. She grew up in Terre Haute, Indiana, and earned her BA in English and Gender Studies from Indiana University and her MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Oregon. She lives with her husband and daughter in Columbus, Ohio.

Published July 15 2025