Despairathon

by Valerie Nies

You’ve spent a lifetime training
for this. Reach into your past-
hat, pull out a white rabbit of lost
lipsticks, dead pets, and melancholia
to remind yourself when your husband
leaves after 33 years of marriage
to fuck his jiu jitsu instructor
but returns weekly
to the house
you still share
to blow leaves off the driveway.

Valerie Nies is a comedian, writer and gluten enthusiast. Her work has been featured in Rattle, McSweeney’s, and Sky Island Journal, among other outlets. Her full-length poetry collection Snacks for the Love Hungry is forthcoming in 2022 from World Stage Press and her chapbook Imaginary Frenemies is available now. Find her in Austin, Texas, ridding her clothing of cat fur, on social media @valerieknees, and at valerienies.com.