Neural Pathways
by Angelica Esquivel
My father figure-eight-skates inside his addiction. He occasionally takes a breathtaking leap. Each time he goes around the rink, the groove beneath his skates deepens into an infinity. His course is set. His blades are embedded deep.
Angelica Esquivel is a Xicana writer, artist, and educator from Fostoria, Ohio. Her work has appeared in Barrelhouse, Poet Lore, Cream City Review, and Muchacha Fanzine. She received the 2021 Zocalo Prize and 2022 Roadrunner Review Cover Art Prize. Angelica teaches writing at Washtenaw Community College and serves as a poetry editor for Paraselene Magazine. She is the inaugural 2025 Writer in Residence of Ypsilanti, Michigan, where she currently lives with her husband and two dogs.