Yuting Zhang (She/They)

I was walking down a street in a strange place. When I looked up I saw intersections of branches, pink blossoms hanging against the background of a gray white sky. Small blocks of buildings, like those I saw in Hangzhou.

Andrea Bustillo (she/he/they)

Cradle my naked body
like a newborn babe,
tears and giggles as prominent
as birthmarks on skin.

Andrea Bustillo (she/he/they)

The world is a network
Of pipes groaning with the weight of shit
And gasoline,
Leaking from gaping bullet holes
Like bloody wounds
​Covered with tiny band-aids called “policies.”

Oh no! You just stepped on hippo poop! But you’re in the middle of town, where is the hippo who committed this crime? You look around, but there is no hippo to be seen. So, you pick the nearest street and start there, wandering down it, hoping to spot the culprit. 

I’m walking home and, suddenly, I hear thunder clap. I run away because, miraculously, I discovered a forbidden stairway. Although the rain drenches me, I frantically beeline towards light, away from the scary staircase. 

The thunder is very loud. You look around for the source of the noise and see a bright light overhead. The clouds have parted, revealing the truth: dozens of ancient beings, clad in robes, clapping in unison. You are dumbfounded, and thus you fall to your knees. 

Oh no! I stepped on my dog’s tail! My dog, Suzie, instead of her usual high-pitched bark, let’s out a deep, “Hey man, why’d you do that?”

Oh no! You just stepped onto the campus of the University of Michigan, and someone once told you that if you step on the big M on the Diag, you will fail your first midterm!

Oh no! You just stepped on the slippery ice outside your apartment during a Michigan snowstorm, and you’re losing your balance and potentially slipping down the stairs. If you land on your back, you will die. What do you do? 

Gabrielle Sethi