This selection, chosen by guest editor Tierney Bailey, is from Mixtape Venus by Dana Kinsey, released by Iris G. Press in 2022.
Pillow
Your eyes stay closed Not sure you’re asleep I shudder running the dailies Carousel horses the night you proposed High-fiving as her ball finds the net Whizzing by you on my burgundy bike Nostalgia pulls my fingers I fancy tattooing my name then yours pressing the needle deep enough I study your torso Stranded in starless midnight An unexpected breath or caress Pretending you’re asleep These blackout shades are efficient Your breathing lush and rhythmic
Talk
I’ll close mine too but it’s clear I dream blankets stolen from days long past The letters you closed “Maybe Someday” A turquoise dress that made you sigh Your laugh as I read Curious George to your spine but they hover indecisive in five-inch script separated by a minus sign so you’ll turn to me to stop the pain ravines too treacherous to navigate I map out a path to your lips could cover me in morning is the kindest lie you’ve told it’s been night for far too long weary lullaby on constant replay
Peeling myself from our bed I sleepwalk through the halls touching each photo like a ghost Skirting the creaky floorboard and the rousing truth
Dana Kinsey is an actor and teacher published in Fledgling Rag, Drunk Monkeys, ONE ART, On the Seawall, Sledgehammer Lit, West Trestle Review, MacQueen’s Quinterly, Viewless Wings, The Champagne Room, Hive, SWWIM, Wild Roof Journal, Prometheus Dreaming, and Prose Online. Dana’s play, WaterRise, was produced at the Gene Frankel Theatre. Her chapbook, Mixtape Venus, is published by I. Giraffe Press.
Tierney Bailey is a Libra, a lover of science fiction and poetry, and is a dice-collecting gremlin. Currently, Tierney is Associate Poetry Editor with Sundress Publications, a copyeditor at Strange Horizons, Associate Editor with PodCastle, and a freelance graphic designer. She has earned a BA from the University of Indianapolis and a Masters Degree in Writing, Literature, and Publishing from Emerson College.
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