‘Reminders (1)’ & ‘Deathexpert’, by Alicia Turner
Reminders (1)
some nights, i have a staring contest with my ceiling & i win.
on birthdays,
i’m afraid to let balloons drift too far away from my palm
of fear they’ll lose their shape.
some nights, i melt into my ceiling & i lose myself.
i’m twenty-eight and some change & wish i suffered from an inflated ego.
instead, i have chipped nails.
i never take a pill without water.
i’m always swallowing my words,
the ones that will hurt people,
because someone hurt me.
and i’ve been handing out hurt like confetti, to everyone who i invited to
the party. and i am the party.
it’s a pity,
but i’ve been leaving pieces of myself with everyone i meet –
chewing my way out of having to chew.
Deathexpert
One time, I kissed a boy and he told me I “smelled like flowers.”
And I thought that he thought that I was decaying.
And he thought that I thought that he was complimenting me.
In this way — we don't bury the dead. The dead bury us.
Alicia Turner holds an MA in English and is a grant writer & storyteller. She can be found writing confessional, conversational poetry in an over-priced apartment somewhere in WV. Her work is featured or forthcoming in Four Lines (4lines), CTD's ‘Pen-2-Paper’ project, Voicemail Poems, FreezeRay Poetry, Drunk Monkeys, Luna Luna, Defunkt Magazine, époque press, Space City Underground Magazine, The Daily Drunk, among others. In all, she is a birth-chart-carrying Virgo who believes in breaking down stigma with a side of sweet tea. To fund writing endeavors and more sweet tea, see: cash.app/$parttimepoetproblems
Artwork by Colin Vestal
Instagram @colinr0bert