The following version of this poem was used to create this guide: Limón, Ada. "Sometimes I Think My Body Leaves a Shape in the Air." The New Yorker (2018).

Note that all parenthetical citations refer to the line number from which the quotation is taken.

“Sometimes I Think My Body Leaves a Shape in the Air” is a free verse poem composed of nine stanzas of varying lengths. Limón originally wrote this poem in an exchange of letter-poems with Natalie Diaz. They never intended to publish these poems, so the close and intimate tone paints a portrait of their friendship as they discuss personal desires, political tensions, and environmental realities. "Envelopes of Air" was eventually published in The New Yorker.

In “Sometimes I Think My Body Leaves a Shape in the Air,” the speaker expresses a wish to transcend the physical limits of her body. After acknowledging the impossibility of her desire, she closely observes both internal and external phenomena. Ultimately, Limón explores what it means to be in a body moving through space.