{"id":803,"date":"2023-11-16T13:28:51","date_gmt":"2023-11-16T18:28:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/crystallize\/?page_id=803"},"modified":"2026-04-02T15:55:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T19:55:07","slug":"libby-feltis-obsession-contest","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/crystallize\/libby-feltis-obsession-contest\/","title":{"rendered":"Libby Feltis"},"content":{"rendered":"

Distinguished Voices in Literature<\/span><\/h3>\n

“Obsession” Contest <\/strong>
\njudged by Gina Nutt, author of Night Rooms<\/em><\/p>\n

Honorable Mention<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Floating Face Down<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\n

The neighbor\u2019s house was Navy blue with
\na window on top
\nOut of which
\nA woman would watch me And I swear
\nRather than hope
\nThat the woman was
\nMy mother
\nOr maybe
\nJust her reflection<\/p>\n

I was alone
\nIn the back yard
\nIn the fall
\nWith my kiddie pool
\nIts surface skimmed with leaves
\nGold-green and red
\nThe air was crisp like September
\nSeven months after she\u2019d gone
\nTo the other side<\/p>\n

I knew
\nOr perhaps the woman\u2019s
\nReflection told me
\nThat if I flopped face down
\nOn that still water
\nAnd held my breath
\nLong enough
\nI\u2019d reach the other side, too<\/p>\n

The tension of the surface
\nGave way to a coolness
\nSo soothing to the ache
\nOf my grief
\nMy face swollen from
\nThe tantrums of a child
\nTerrified each time her
\nFather dropped her off
\nAt pre-school
\nthat he too
\nWould never return<\/p>\n

I floated there
\nFace down
\nWith the leaves
\nMy arms spread in surrender
\nBreath held and stubborn
\nWaiting for the blue liner
\nTo flip to heaven
\nWhere my mother
\nSurely was
\nHer arms outstretched
\nReady to catch me<\/p>\n

But she found me
\nThe chain-smoking nanny
\nMy father had hired
\nIf not to nurture us
\nThen to feed us
\nLettuce and mayonnaise sandwiches
\nThe nutritional value
\nThe same as the water
\nIn that pool<\/p>\n

The bad nanny
\nPulled me out
\nBy the scruff of
\nMy soggy Disney sweatshirt
\nI don\u2019t know if
\nShe ever told my dad
\nOr if she kept it secret
\nLike the way she made us
\nNap with our underwear
\nOff<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t stop thinking
\nAbout why my mom
\nCalled to me
\nTo join her
\nMe, only three
\nAnd her, forever thirty-one
\nMaybe she knows something I don\u2019t
\nAbout my future
\nAbout my body
\nAnd its hidden cells
\nMaybe she knows I\u2019ll
\nDie like her, too<\/p>\n

Maybe it\u2019s better
\nTo float face down
\nArms open, ready
\nThan it is
\nTo wither away
\nLike a ghost
\nNo one dares
\nTo talk about<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Libby Feltis<\/strong> is a Professional Writing major. After graduation, she hopes to join a creative writing MFA program. When she’s not writing, you can find her singing blues somewhere in the Finger Lakes.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Home<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Distinguished Voices in Literature “Obsession” Contest judged by Gina Nutt, author of Night Rooms Honorable Mention Floating Face Down The neighbor\u2019s house was Navy blue with a window on top Out of which A woman would watch me And I swear Rather than hope That the woman was My mother Or maybe Just her reflection […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":130,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-803","page","type-page","status-publish","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/crystallize\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/803","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/crystallize\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/crystallize\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/crystallize\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/130"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/crystallize\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=803"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/crystallize\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/803\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/crystallize\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=803"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}