class indicators:
By Sylvi Stien
how bad the worst summer of your life was; whether or not you know the song that goes, "What is love?"; how much you hate teen movies; the funniest knock-knock joke you know; the number of mountains you have climbed; whether or not you have ever stayed up all night to watch the sunrise; whether or not you like poetry; whether or not the teacher knows how to spell your name when you say it aloud; the number of people you've kissed; the number of people you've daydreamed about kissing;
the number of homework assignments you hand in late; whether or not you can remember where you left your glasses; how good you are at telling lies; how good you are at telling a story that actually happened to you; the amount of cash in your back pocket right now, counting pennies; whether or not you believe in a god, or at least, in a power higher than the NRA;
the things your brother does in his spare time; whether or not you know how to spell "dubious"; whether or not your grandmother is still alive; the worst thing your father has ever said to you; whether or not your father speaks to you; if you can remember the last time your mother hugged you; if you can remember what she whispered in your ear when she hugged you;
how many times you threw up in the last year; how many times you cry a day; how many hours of sleep you get a night; how many times you bite your tongue every hour;
whether you would, if given the chance, walk into the dusk and not come back until you found whatever it is you're looking for.
Sylvi Stein (she/her) is an undergraduate at Columbia University in New York City majoring in creative writing and art history. Her writing has been published by Rattle Poetry Magazine, Eunoia Review, and The Decameron Project. In her spare time, Sylvi can be found wandering the aisles of used book stores, even though she has more than enough to read at home.