Debut Prize in Poetry Finalist: "WHEN EVE HEARD ABOUT ANOTHER HER" by Gabriella Mayer

What stunning lyrical form and the unravelling of the magic of "-a" in the echoing beginning and ending. What beauty in the line, "“-a”: the end of rivers sliding through rocks in two waterfalls". This is a poem of such love, such tenderness, such strength. “WHEN EVE HEARD ABOUT ANOTHER HER“ is Gabriella Mayer’s first poetry publication and a finalist for Touchstone’s 2020 Debut Prize in Poetry.

WHEN EVE HEARD ABOUT ANOTHER HER

“-a”: a premonition to life, pulse blooming, fingernails pointing

We march to the lobby, singing morning t’fila for a god we don’t know

if we really believe in and I pick

at the siddur

tracing the colored glue that covers

the now-sacred fabric surrounding it

People tell me there shouldn’t be love for

feminine sounds in Hebrew, but I can’t help loving

the sound of “-a”,

Can’t help but rewrite the sound “Chaya”, linguistics filling psalms

“-a”: the end of rivers sliding through rocks in two waterfalls

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Gabriella Mayer is a poet and freelance writer originally from Boca Raton, FL. Her articles have been published in the Palm Beach Daily News and My Jewish Learning, among other publications. In high school, she was recognized regionally by the Scholastic Arts & Writing Awards. She was a finalist for Touchstone's Debut Prize in Poetry. She loves toeing the line between prose and poetry and is delighted to find the first home for her poetry in Touchstone. She is currently pursuing her Creative Writing MFA at New York University. You can find her on Twitter @gabriellajmayer, Instagram @gabbyisgolden, and her portfolio at clippings.me/gabriellamayer.