Copyright reserved. Please do not reproduce without consent.
1936 miles away
by Tohm Bakelas
she had this exotic name like
Xena or Hydrangea or
Oceana or Cthulhu and from
time to time we’d correspond
about poems and life
and one day she said
__________ was publishing
her next chapbook
I told her “don’t waste your time”
“what do you mean?” she asked
“well” I said “a few of us
don’t like __________ and
I can’t tell you anymore
than I already have”
“what if I send you
a picture of my tits?
will you then tell me
your secrets?”
I said that wouldn’t be necessary
I just needed to see
which side she was on
__________’s or our’s.
she called me later that the day
I told her some secrets
not many, but enough
to hold her over,
enough to get the message
across that __________ was
a real shady publisher with
a bizarre reputation and
that she should be careful
after we hung up
she sent me a picture
of herself laying in bed
shirt off, two perfectly pierced tits
smiling from 1936 miles away
and not knowing
what to make
of the whole situation
I thanked her
and stared at the
picture for a while.
Copyright reserved. Please do not reproduce without consent.