Illustration by Zain Murdock
I
she ordered scallops
and said:
“This is what
the lower class
is trying to
tell us, there
is dignity and
satisfaction in work,
I took my
own garbage out
the other day,
and I was like
wow.”
II
I am a paper mâché smile
Glued to unnamed hands that
Curl out from the holes in a polo.
But this is how I appear in my dreams:
Wearing everything with sequins,
Preaching the gospel to traffic lights.
I would have called this poem Stardust
If it was about me or a pigeon,
Which is self-explanatory.
And I will always count the blemishes
On my face to immortalize them.
I am Hecate out back under the stars
Listening to the bottles breaking
In the trash bag hurled onto the gravel.
How alone I can be and how joyful.
Leif Wood (he/him) is a sophomore at Columbia College studying English and Philosophy. He is a big fan of words and trees. You can find him on Instagram @leif_wood.