Hannah Mills

Houseplant Love

every time a leaf
falls from my houseplant I cry
pay more attention to me she screams
thick curvy stems
draping down
bent over flimsy

hydrate me

water seeps into the soil
down to the roots
underground stash
and by morning when I wake up
she’s perking up
sturdy curvy green


Thawing

I’ve been asking myself what hope and faith are
and what they look like so I can keep an eye out

I was rushing to take the dogs outside
but then the dripping caught my eye
not from the leaky faucet
or tears from my mom's eyes

when I look out
the living room window
the snow on the roof is
melting water running off into the gutters

and I saw it
against the sunlight and pine trees
and thought wow what synchronicity

that the ice on the sidewalk and porch have melted
and yet the driveway is still slippery
but its warm and the sun is out

that’s what the dripping means

things seem lighter
though winters not over
but for an afternoon
the ice is slushy

how amazing that I
I noticed this while life
has felt so unforgiving

in the midst of it all
this moment of thawing


A Butterfly with a Broken Wing Receives a Transplant
Washington Press October 10th, 2025

and I think the world is good again
merrily on its way out of Long Island
migrating to warmer weather
bye bye butterfly

the story pops up on my Instagram feed
and I print it out for my journal
it’s a cruel world outside the chrysalis
shit happens, a wing tears

yet these intricate and delicate things
evolve into courage to endure the day


About the Author

Hannah Mills (she/her) is an Aquarius sun, Gemini moon, and Libra rising. She is also completing her BA in Writing and Rhetoric at Pace University in Pleasantville, NY where she also works as a writing tutor.

A lot of her work is forthcoming, but her poems have appeared in Neon Origami Literary Magazine (https://neonorigami.co/2025/12/14/communion-hannah-mills/) and CHROMA Pace University’s students produced literary and arts magazine. When she’s not writing a poem or paper, you can find her falling down a YouTube rabbit hole or collaging.

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