1599L
he watches me shove it in
saying
you know what you’re doing
don’t you
-
oh god
I’m bloated
I look like a scarecrow smuggling
a small washing machine
.
I’m sure that TSA agent
has seen worse
coming through
Denver’s security gates at 730am
-
I’m hallucinating
whirring pink chainsaws by the time
I make it to my seat
then gone then gone then
over the din I hear a toddler
speaking in tongues
-
I watch the flight attendants and
fight the urge to ask
“what do you do?
do you have a boss?
whose in charge?
do you get lunch breaks?
what are your responsibilities
when you’re off the plane?
what do you do?
what does a flight attendant do?”
I hear a mother weep
and forget to press that
red Call Attendant button
I hear a father laughing
I’m convinced there’s a hanging
in the aisle next to me
a public execution
my invite forgotten
-
chatter
chatter
charge charged
-
what do you do?
I’m recently out of grad school.
what were you studying?
playwriting and you?
I’m a geology major
-
my lips are still
red and bruised
I open and close them
my breath hovering by the window
holding the rock she gave
holding it to my ear
thinking I can hear her
over the rattle of the airplane’s
dry and cold bones
say
thank you you’re welcome thank you
-
I smell like weed and alcohol and
dirt and water and cum
-
when I come home
I wash the clothes
my brother’s cat pissed all over
