Zodiac

Drawn to melancholy. Prone 
to isolation. Secret heart, tight 
as a lock. Tries to seem mysterious yet
longs to be known. May be known, 

at times, to be spontaneous, even funny
but more often caught up
in imagination. Prone to long 
periods of reflection. May seek 

crowds to feel anonymous. Ambivalent 
about crowds and the general order 
of things. Prone to confusion. 
Prone to self-sabotage. Prone 

to lateness. Moody, judgmental, 
sarcastic. Wounded 
at the core. Observer. Healer.  
Idealist. Easily distracted.  

Prone to quitting. Daydreams 
about others and 
a sense of closeness.

Dilruba Ahmed
Swarthmore

“Zodiac” from Bring Now the Angels: Poems, © 2020. Reprinted by permission of the University of Pittsburgh Press.