a Craigslist cento

& you own or are willing a debilitating flaw—
you can’t decide its meaning so we’re back at square one.

A contract marriage is easier said than done.
You are easier sad than dumb,

though I don’t deal in hypotheticals
anymore. Your morning coffee 

enema brews twice before 
asking whose asshole. 

More than two years—
this can only go on so long!—

of entrepreneurial pursuits, so
our weekends can be nothing else.

When you say goodnight I want to believe you.

***

Rachel Stempel is a queer Ukrainian Jewish poet and PhD student in English literature at SUNY-Binghamton. They are the author of the chapbooks BEFORE THE DESIRE TO EAT (Finishing Line Press, 2022), Dear Abbey (Bottlecap Press, 2022), and Interiors (Foundlings Press, forthcoming). They live in New York with their rabbit, Diego.

Back to Issue: Spring 2022