Sleeping in My Car, I Fear Thunderstorms Again

When lightning strikes a distant tree
I lift my hands from the steering wheel.

Hail knocks on the windshield–
a desperate stranger. Curled in fleece,

I hide behind windows, the past
a gathering flood until the sun

bares terrible fangs
of clarity and renewal.

 

(originally published in Rust + Moth, Autumn 2018)

How to Be Proud

As I waited for my burger at Northstar
I saw they had copies of The Bitter Oleander,
and on the first page was the work
of my first poetry professor.

Buzzing on metaphor,
I sent an email to tell her
that they’ve also published me before
but it has been a couple of years.

She told me
to sleep it off.

 

(originally published in EgoPHobia, Spring 2018)

Straightening Hair

It’s true–
every instance
I want to jump your bones.
Skeleton dancing
alive with every
touch: hand on
collarbone, fingers
on wrist, lips
on steamed hair
and you tell me
I’m doing that thing
again, calling you pretty
when half your hair’s curly,
the other half straight and
I tell you I mean it
like when I watch you
in the mirror bring hot iron
to hair and I mean it
like when I kiss you
steam leaves our lips,
a collision of curves
into flat plane open
and infinite where
only we exist.

 

(originally published in The Sunlight Press, 2018)