She wakes with a runny nose and sore throat.
A pot of water with ginger heats on the stove,
bubbling and waiting.
There’s a draft coming in through the window,
I should get that fixed. She scribbles on a note pad—
the paper was once cream-colored, like fresh sheets.
But now, it’s snot-yellow.

Driving over the Whitestone Bridge feels the same every time:
bad.
The water beneath the bridge sits dark and motionless. So,
she holds her breath as she crosses. Her chest hurts from the congestion.
She wishes that she could shut her eyes too, but that’s illegal.
Bodies of water tell stories—of little boys strapped to cotton gin fans,
beaten and drowned in the Tallahatchie—
but she won’t lean in to listen. 

A cough in a crowded room draws too much attention.
It’s been a few years since the pandemic ended,
but coughing is still banned in the country. 
Her neighbor was detained last month. He owns the liquor store, 
his daughter attends music school around the corner
and his wife passed away last year. 
Someone whispers and the cough is forgotten.
He was deported yesterday.

The bodega is out of birthday candles.
Two hostess cupcakes and a provolone grilled cheese will do. 
She checks the draws at home and finds four odd candles:
green, orange, white and pink,
two for each cupcake.
The old Zippo lighter flame burns bright orange, like Garfield,
and the melted frosting smells like plastic.
A sneeze puts out the flame.

On the last night of 2025, the first night of 2026,
the leather in the backseat of the cab feels cold. 
The windows are open and it’s freezing. 
She shakes. She shivers. 
She thinks back on warmer times of the year. 
It’s hard to recall fond memories during flu season.

She is long gone
when someone at the bar gets too drunk and shares too many secrets. 
I don't deserve to be loved. 
She wants to be loved too.
But all she has is a purse full of tissues.
She has secrets too. Hers smell like menthol rub.

Nia Watson is an NYC-based poet, essayist and journalist. Her poetry appears in The Fellowship of the Unmoored, Baedeker Travel Journal, Lullaby Machine, Obindo Magazine and The Underground (forthcoming). Her non-fiction writing appears in amNewYork, The {C} Magazine, Generations Now Journal, Primer Press, Amsterdam News and Rewire News Group (forthcoming). Her writing often explores themes of culture, community, food, health and wellness. When she isn’t working, she loves sipping wine in the sun.


RETURN TO SPRING 2026 ISSUE OF REBEL'S ZEITGEIST