Pink Moment
your cowboy knife slicing Ojai citrus
you ask, have you ever seen an orange
juice so effortlessly
I never have
I lie anyway
because I can’t stand
having less experiences than you
the sky so unhindered blue today
it gave me a stomach ache
I stole a few oranges
guess I’m a klepto now
juice swelling on my tongue
while a pink moment
overwhelms the scenery
and you pay off the parking meter
then pump gas into the car
for the long drive back
Nightmare
Lover I never had asks in a dream
what are you up to lately
I don’t know man I do
the dishes
put air in the tires
ask the doctor about the twitch in my eyelid
hunch
then correct my posture
scavenge for affection since you left me
starving
watch the morning insist upon itself
dream of you at intervals that alarm me
insist I’m not going crazy
think of your hands
like lobsters caressing
my torso and between my legs
watch the old homes decay with
such expensive beautiful furniture inside
The Spring I Tried to Fall Out of Love
I went back home to New York
The earth was disoriented
and unburdened its warmth too early
bringing forth migrating birds
and heat and other flowers
In every gleaming black window
I glimpsed a suggested symmetry
I resented the symmetry
and every man I encountered
both loutish and refined
To get over you I visited sex rooms
wearing complex shoes
which were very difficult to take off
so I was always naked in front of strangers
wearing only shoes
Spider and I
I went outside
I spoke to the cardinals
I purposefully avoided anything that could bring me bad luck
I saw oil in the sky
I saw smoke circle low in the dirt
I interpreted all manner of symbols and messages
ㅤㅤㅤㅤwith enough religious fervor to please a priest
I wished for my name to roll more easily off your tongue
I thought the yellow of passing license plates profane
I performed the unspeakable labor of women
I stood in front of the spider web I saw last year
It was spun again
If you really tried could you remember the picture I sent
With sweet reverence you called it “spooky”
____
Salome Reyna is a multidisciplinary artist and writer from Syracuse, NY, with work published in HAD, dirt child, and elsewhere.
This website and publication is supported by the sales of the print issues and by generous donations.Become a sponsor to support New Literature