Ari Feld, thank you for supporting me in the creation of this project. Your enthusiasm made it a source of joy in a busy semester.

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Dad, thank you for your unending support and your talents on the front of this book. You captured the beauty I wanted to portray.

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Mom, thank you for supporting my passions, even though you hate poetry.

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Michaela McCoy, thank you for teaching me to love poetry. I would not be here if it were not for you.

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Lexi, Crista, and Olivia, thank you for being such amazing friends. This semester wouldn’t have happened without you.

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“contemplation” is inspired by Robert Bly’s poetry collection My Sentence is a Thousand Years of Joy.

“arrival” is inspired by Lang Leav’s poetry collection Self-Love for Small-Town Girls.