This Road Has Clearly Been on a Bender
by Marcella Benton
a flock of spandex cyclists take the unexpecting road like fighter jets
a blunt contrast to the rickety wheeled meth head
twitching towards them
cars oink by
quaking over that too thin white line
quivering to devour them all
because this road
has clearly
been on a bender
cars can barely hang on
as it jokes and chokes the hillside
with corn stalking the banks
wishing it was a river or the seaside in summer
just at the right time of day
when the sun and the moon shine down together like a cross-eyed girl
Hibernation
hibernation today
stuck in the warm fluffed bed
wreathed by domesticats and dogs snoring
made a sandwich of myself
I will live off the stored fat
until there is nothing but crumbs
the purrrrr of the skin and bone feline
king of the mountain
syncopates with the rumble of cars
patting down the street
rat a tat tapping my windows
unopened books and a revolver on the nightstand
not enough blanket to cover my cold feet
A Ghost in the Kitchen
I thought I heard you in the kitchen
running water dirty feet
saw the tip of a head above the door behind me
reflection of someone riding a bike in the hall mirror
must be the ghost you insisted we had
dog toys rolling uphill
the cat staring down the corner
but where are you now
maybe you just could see the future
so who is haunting who…
running each other over every day
sandwiched like a mack truck
maybe we made it
but no
no death comes early for the poor man
with a wink and a nudge
and vultures don’t give a shit
Whiffs of Nostalgia
we pass yawns back and forth
almost as intimate as french kisses on the porch swing
catching whiffs of nostalgia
of him
needling into that summer dress
and I was such a good girl
sit lay roll over
play dead
it’ll be over soon
Spring
so lily livered
swallowing poppies like candy
staining the grass with her perennial gardens
glads winking at her nose
changing her diaphanous mind
quicker than a soiled diaper
a little too late for the wrist cut roses
trickling warm and salty over her cuticles
telling her to replant before someone else does
BIO
Marcella Benton lives in Lakeland, Florida
, with her husband and pets. She and her husband own and operate a screen printing and embroidery company, Whatever Tees.
