Adam

Katherine Brett

last night / me
reluctant to go out 
sore soles 
yet anticipating what? 
an aimlessness contained by tight fists

/ him / standing 
somehow manages to be / born / before 1974 
somehow manages a smile disguised as a hook
his hat still orange 
he says he’s seen me before 
that makes me wonder how many other people have seen me
& stayed silent 

mouth sewn shut
by tequila sour & dizzy / articulate 
how the head has no hair 
but the jaw / patchy and gray 
grooms me as if I am the lion’s
cub runs away as an antelope 

my head slammed against a windshield 
where have my protective antlers failed me 

perhaps back at the bar 
where the warmth took away my pecking order
trusting those circle framed glasses

Katherine Brett is a poet who was born and raised in Boise, ID. She got her foot in the door by competing in slam poetry three years ago and has since competed at the state and national level. She has since been published in Rose Quartz Mag, self-produced a collaborative zine titled Eggwax and can be found sharing her writing wherever welcome. You may find them on instagram at @cryingonmylunchbreak