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 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