teleology
the end does not justify
this means there is only
the broken window
& the knuckles
that spiderwebbed
it, this soft diamond
face there is
only the nuclear power
plant here in
this asphalt field
this hot-tar
face only
a means
to exhaust
exhaustion
it’s hot out
white shadeless
here, there
is only
oil to fuel
the engines
wind to turn
the turbines
sun to charm crops
from the dirt
& it’s exhausted
it’s soft it’s broken
it’s hot out
here at the end
Sirens on 82nd Street
in the frozen yogurt shop,
an aquarium. a blue-eyed baby.
bad romance throbbing from
a single distant speaker. the fish
a darting living neon. i want
your ugly i want your disease. something
tragic has occurred–the wail of it
rattles the plate-glass.
we eat mango frozen
yogurt with gummy bears.
the baby crawls
to the aquarium. presses
palms to its glow.
by the far wall, choosing
between raspberry and lemon sorbet,
mother’s mouth traces oh
oh-oh-oh oh. fish mouth bubbles
quiet silver. and my own
throat catching unwillingly
at the beat. we are all singing
silently in this yogurt shop.
bassline curves upward. baby
strokes glass. love love
love i want your love.
beneath the siren’s scream
we are all singing.
___________________
Esmé Kaplan-Kinsey is a California transplant attending college in Portland, Oregon. Their work has been recognized by the National YoungArts Foundation, the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, and appears in journals such as Gone Lawn and No Contact Mag. They are a mediocre guitarist, an awe-inspiring procrastinator, and an awful swimmer.
These poems were chosen by Anthropocene Guest Editor Tom Branfoot
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