» Poetry
Cool Side of the Pillow
Have you ever heard the sound of a screen door
closing old-timer slow?—Inching madness to the edge
of its seat?— Think of shoes on the wrong feet.
And how fingernails scratch the chalkboard
to test your impulses. When the dog shits
in the house, and the house isn’t yours.
Lost keys. Bad haircut. Bad ink. Bad poem.
Broken tooth. Ulcer. Speeding ticket.
Bad job. Foreclosure. Your ovaries tied.
Boyfriend sexting someone else.
Your kid hates you. Your dying friend has
no insurance policy. You’re addicted to soap.
Boss screaming down your throat.
You burnt the turkey. Is it worth mentioning,
that moss has no roots?— We know something
has been tampered with, when the seal
is broken. Only one thing to do, don’t surrender,
turn over your armor, dream a little dream.
Cynthia Atkins
Cynthia Atkins (she/her) is the author of Psyche’s Weathers, In The Event of Full Disclosure (CW Books), and Still-Life With God (Saint Julian Press 2020), and a chapbook forthcoming from Harbor Editions, 2022. Her work has appeared in many journals, including Alaska Quarterly Review, Anti- Heroin Chic, BOMB, Cider Press Review, Diode, Green Mountains Review, Indianapolis Review, Los Angeles Review, Rust + Moth, North American Review, Permafrost, SWWIM, Thrush, Tinderbox, and Verse Daily. Formerly, Atkins worked as the assistant director for the Poetry Society of America, and has taught English and Creative Writing, most recently at Blue Ridge Community College. She earned her MFA from Columbia University and has earned fellowships and prizes from Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, The Writer’s Voice, and Writers@Work. Atkins lives on the Maury River of Rockbridge County, Virginia, with artist, Phillip Welch and their family. More work and info at: www.cynthiaatkins.com