POETRY

“Poetry is language at its most distilled and most powerful.”
—Rita Dove
beach
On Undressing a Color / On Undressing a Girl

I imagine that undressing a color, though, would be so much like peeling a memory away from the grey and the white matter of your brain.

There is an alternative universe

Ghosts for hire, whispers in her mouth,
cysts to feel, the symmetry of a gift.

Observer of the Patient

Her brown eyes,
how a fig
considers itself.

painting of apple and grapes
Feast Of

anger, like you can sink teeth into, candy apple

First

Long after midnight, we’re talking about our first time

An Interview with Dylan Krieger

Dylan Krieger’s poetry is unflinching, grotesque, and beautiful. Her work tackles trauma, wrestles authority, and is a decadent sonic feast.

Mom, in Her Dementia, Steals Oranges

and apples, mackintosh mostly, but any kind left in The Pub
at the Assisted Living Place

oh Manifesto

The collective
failure
of ethical standards

necromancer woman, witch woman

In my universe, my arm carries a heart and flowers,
my back a misguided quote

Sadness is a Sin

If my life was the size of my arm, I would stretch it out for you.

Sprung (April)

I like to think I’m also sprung,
released from the furnace knocks,
done with the heavy meat stews
and salty soups.

3:17 AM as Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks

Part of being a good sad person
is always painting the shadows
in the right direction and knowing
what sorrow to art with.

Good Driver

Lights on the dashboard spell out
“You still can’t kiss me”

Aging Punks

Every so often, they add a tattoo
in honor of some long-forgotten love.

The love of my life moved from portland to new england

He has stories that I am not in
anymore. It’s healed this way.

Willpower

Live the rest of your life
from one worst case to another.

My Multiverses

It is the 70s. 1970s? 2570s? Who knows?
Audre and I have a penthouse in New York.

Electric Eels, Finishing School, Teeth

Millions of Americans have been affected by identity theft. It’s probably the greenhouse gases.

robertson quay

how does an afternoon turn
on its axis?

Lobster

I suffer visions and many indignities
while looking for the Lobster