Elisa Gabbert
Kathleen Rooney
Smoking Villanelle
The situation was not without charm
but I'd never, ever do it again.
There must be a better way to stay warm
than running a lighter up & down my arm,
which is dry as a bone & matchstick thin.
One situation that's not without charm
is a ritual bonfire—there's not any harm
in a little pagan frenzy now & then.
But there must be a better way to stay warm.
What we used to do on the family farm
was assign everyone an animal twin.
The situation was not without charm
but had its drawbacks. Don't be alarmed,
but one day you'll die. The question is when.
There must be a better way to stay warm
than that crazy dance. This isn't a dorm,
that's not a laundry bin, & I'm not your friend.
Though this situation is not without charm,
there must be a better way to stay warm.
Exposition of the Contents of a Cab
So maybe I was drunk—but when I found the note
the sky opened up. The gum said "Devilment," not
"You will be granted three wishes." Even still,
I wished for Doublemint. My amour propre
suffered a catastrophic blow—I folded the wrapper
& said Show me your favorite bright lights to the driver.
As we cruised the strip of 24-hour flower shops I rolled down
Memory Lane: willed memory vs. memoir involontaire,
hip-hop vs. rap, all the old arguments make me blue—
it's all very recherché, very whoops-missed-my-stop.
Join the Millions
Books can't stop tanks, but they can stop bullets.
Bullets of love. If you can't fuck your way out
you're stuck. Stars are just bullet holes. Bullet
holes of love. I should have said "you're fucked."