Eulogy for a subleased room, enumerated by Tristen Pasternak

 

Illustration by Armaan Bamzai

- A light under the door (1)
- I know you’re awake
- 20 minutes on the stairs (20)
- A dream, two palms (3)
- A hand held (4)
- Crying / dishes (2)
- An embrace (1)
- A forehead kiss (1)
- Soft light, orange light (1)
- Heatwave (1)
- Falling into (1)
- Dark wood (1)
- Sore vaccinated arms (2)
- A first touch (2)
- A smile underneath me (1)
- A 5 am alarm (1)
- Cheddar (1)
- Rats (80)
- You asking me what kind of decorating I’d like my home to have when I am older (1)
- Laundry room (1)
- A flood (1)
- A hot furnace (1)
- A hammered dulcimer (1)
- A heart opening (2)
- A seashell box (1)
- An eternity at once (1)
- A tree, grass, a star (3)
- Sleepwalker (1)
- A rainy day (1)
- The MET and your bare asscheeks (3)
- An invitation (1)
- Holding your face in the light from the stove (1)
- Tea (2)
- Such a gaze you invite me to spend the night in here (1)
- A tuck in, a goodnight, and I climb in with you (1)
- Sitting around a candle (1)
- A conversation (1)
- A short embrace, a good smell (2)
- Standing up, you touching behind me, my undressed body (3)
- Pancakes shaped like hearts (8)
- One shaped like a dick (1)
- A piece of tree from the island (1)
- Kissing each part of your body (1)
- A tap at the door (3)

Tristen is a graduating senior in the Barnard class of 2022. She majored in English & Creative Writing and is from the Philadelphia area. Tristen is excited to travel this post-grad summer, to go to parks, and to read for fun in this new part of her life.