Issue 23

Fall 2020

palm springs poem

gigi bella

maybe we keep waking up in the same day/

nameless & unassuming /melatonin sleep

in drool dried pillows/o the soft jello’d hours

when we are awake/ a melted magma disco ball

like dancing when you’re too drunk to dance

or time just being time/ i maybe remember

a little of yesterday /a “your mom” joke

from the day before/ here we are

in this house/ the occasional walk

to the post office/maybe we put on “real pants”

tomorrow/ work on the books we will

never read/ the movie we will write &

shoot & star in/ all in the safety of

our own backyard/ (it could be like

boyhood or something if we work on it

every day)/maybe we will perfect the wild

stupid handshake/ create a tik tok dance

so fresh it keeps the teens endlessly shooketh

maybe we map the galaxy of our bodies

all our dimple & freckle & quiver/sex

dripped with sex/ we see the dinosaurs

tomorrow/hold hands in a stupor of what if

what are the odds of being alive

during a pandemic?/what are the odds

of staying alive? /i am already sick of you

& can i tell you/ it is my favorite part to live

through/ if i could choose any way to go

it is this one/ tangled in laughter/ even when i can’t

get the aftertaste of sadness out of my mouth

into the chlorine pool of you// until you can’t

tell if i am mourning or just blinking really hard

underwater/ trying to see my way clear/ floating

in your odd forever/ on a plastic vinyl pizza slice

floatie to nowhere/i don’t know how we make it

out of here/ waking and wondering when

 

 

we get to have a tomorrow/

if this is just a historical thing

we will tell our kids about someday/

how different we will be

when it’s all finally “over”/sometimes

i want to get out of this day/

other times/ i beg to keep waking up

these days/i only stay up at night

to chill with my deep longing

all i know is

i want to see you

tomorrow

whatever that looks like

About the Author

gigi bellagigi bella // has been ranked the tenth woman poet in the world, the two time Project X Bronx Poetry Champion as well as a literal mermaid. She is also a Pink Door Fellow, a National Poetry Slam Semifinalist and Champion. She has been featured on stages with Andrea Gibson, Sabrina Benaim, Olivia Gatwood, and many others. Her chapbook, weird things, was featured on the instagram of pop singer/songwriter, Sara Bareilles. Her other work is featured on Button Poetry, Slamfind, and in a variety of literary journals. Her book, big feelings, is available through Game Over Books and has been recommended by Small Press Distribution. gigibellapoetry.com

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