A Poem by Laura Buccieri
Author: Poetry Editor
October 4, 2017
This week, a poem by Laura Buccieri.
i am totally and completely
some stuff at salvation army
hi i’m anne come
in please to meet
this is my
staircase slurpin budweiser
mad not mad i think
last step last step
whew made it sip
mad not mad i try to be
a woman make my way
desk desk that’s the left side
of the room
never carries sex
unless i switch it out
move the bathroom wallpaper in paste up the blue strips
jail bar like
paper on these walls
mad not mad i just can’t
remember when i last sat down
on this here chair
at this here desk
desk desk this is my desk
and who are you
here to interview
me me no no not mad
i’m stink-eyeing
that dog my dog our dog
him and me my husband
i don’t know what that means
ruff ruff to bark bark
to arf arf i’m not mad stop
laugh not mad my hair is just too hard
spray squirt spray how do i look
like ice cream i know
a spoonful when i see one
no what are your questions
no no not mad i’m a salem girl
flint strike whoosh flame
no no not mad
don’t you see
how the smoke melts
on to my right hand
melting onto this here desk
it’s this heat
ruff ruff to arf bark
stop just stop
stink eye stink not the smell
no no not mad
the typewriter
ding deadened
by my inhale
ask your question i know
there is something behind me
my pages
stuck to the wood
it’s this heat
no no not done yet
slurp gulp bud is cold
i never want to
throw away work
no no not mad i know
it’s four years ahead
of my life
yes sir i believe in life
and my husband
is camera shy
but don’t his suit look real
nice on screen shirt unbuttoned
on account of this heat
this heat yes what have i done
i’ve descended that staircase there
and step step step foot on ground but
my cigarette has gone
out and light light i need the flint so bad
no no not mad
can either of you help
a lady out ask him over there
my husband yes move your questions over
in the corner stroking
the barking dog
my light my light not mad but
how many times
can he smooth fur
left to right
left to right
——
LAURA BUCCIERI is a NYC based writer. Her chapbook, On being mistaken, is forthcoming in Spring 2018 from PANK. You can find her forthcoming and most recent work in Metatron, Prelude, DUM DUM, Word Riot, Reality Beach, Apogee, Yes Poetry, Public Pool, and elsewhere. She is the Publicist at Copper Canyon Press & holds an MFA in poetry from The New School. Check out more of her work here: laurabuccieri.com.
