Dawn
you were playing god all summer, back when summer
meant being with you and winter meant being on a
different coast than you: playing god the way you
slowed time the way you quickened time the way
Audio
Allen Ginsberg’s Dead
I know Allen Ginsberg’s dead,
And I want to write
A poem for him just like every-
Body else wants to do
Possible Reasons Why
The career purgatoried into a litany of left turns, almost-theres, and no-way-outs.
The reputation he counted on was outnumbered by the five stages of grief.
The fact of everything evolving into something that orbited a wound.
Somewhere It’s Always Thanksgiving
Last night when I crawled into bed and switched off the light,
too tired to read, too tired for an audio book on low volume even,
I said what I called my evening prayer, which is more of a recap
of the day and a short run down of all I should be thankful for.
The Scene Is Set
Image: “Zaubererturm” by Jennifer S. Lange. “The Scene Is Set” was written by Rose Lennard for Rattle’s Ekphrastic Challenge, October 2024, and selected as the Editor’s Choice.
Prosopopoeia
Because my toilet’s
backed up and I don’t have a plunger, my nervous bladder has filled
one and a half clear, glass
flower vases with urine overnight and throughout the morning.