Prose, Poetry, and Art since 1956
If You Ask Me begins with the seemingly picturesque life of Violet, aka Sweetie, of the Dear Sweetie advice column in North Carolina. Dear Sweetie is up for syndication and Violet is excited to share the news with her husband of over a decade, Sam. That is, until she comes home to Sam in bed with Shelby, the neighborhood runner with a perfect ponytail who…
God of the cuffs, key clenched in the apse your mouth makes. God of dead aphids greening the rose whose thorns furrow me. Call me seed. As in: all I’m good for. Yes, I promise to give you what I’m good for. Yes, I promise to beg for God in every way imaginable. God, unlock me. God, happily ignoring the body tied to yours. God,…
do you think i could stay here just a few nights– i won’t make any noise– i will bury myself under these woodchips– i will rake the leaves in the morning– i won’t ever use your keys AND i won’t buzz in (you can leave your tv on the cctv channel)– i won’t steal your buttons OR little pieces of glass– you won’t have to…
we’ve eaten the ozone again now, the only ethical source of consumption in america is the dream. i awake with oil clotting menstruation-like between my toes, sealing me to the bed already wet with bloody goose feathers. jarred bits of permafrost sit thawing on my windowsill. the arctic bacteria floats to the top like upside-down maggot bodies. i tip-toe about the room. here, in america,…
Field with Miscarriage Your body spills acrossthe wheat. Empty husked, silver podded. Glisteningbefore dark. Your ash clings like blame to my fingers,the cellophane bag we brought you home in.Terrible, to choke on your airborne body, watchyou disappear with the sun. Segmentation Notes Twelve ribs are present.The long bones are unremarkable. The heart is opened in a sequential fashionalong the flow of blood. (body as water,…