Issue 24
Spring 2021
mistakes, a bracelet
Valerie Coulton
red & red’s friends
walk into a bar
this was when bars were still open
you know
but that’s not really important
or maybe it’s kind of important
but anyway
red & red’s friends
had been driving since dawn
with very few stops & everyone
was worn out, half awake,
& really red was ready to smash
something after miles & miles of
highway & the white studded
mile numbers counting down &
place names, some of which
irritated her and others
which made her want to
kiss the inside of something velvet
& cry salt into the kiss
the bar was called THE HOOT,
according to the sign
violet almost fell out of the car
night was starting to condense
inside was like an aquarium,
dark & cool, green lit
with that particular bar smell that took
red back in time
a bright elderly fish swam over, glittering
darkly through the cool
what’ll you ladies have
About the Author
Valerie Coulton’s books include still life with elegy, small bed & field guide (both from above/ground press), open book (Apogee Press), and The Cellar Dreamer (Apogee Press). With husband Edward Smallfield, she’s the co-author of lirio and anonymous, both from Dancing Girl Press. She lives in Barcelona and co-edits parentheses, an annual journal of international writing.