Issue #20 (2011) PDF - myweb - Long Island University

Sarah Wallen
OPOSSOMOON
—an excerpt
Cut dad out from the beginning—
lizard tails like worms in a bucket
wooden golf clubs
war costumes and being forced to smoke
cartons of Pall Mall Lights
half-empty all over the enclosed porch
sun allergies
metallic wallpaper
the yellow, ceramic cats.
Don't wonder where they are now.
Delete
Big Rock Candy Mountains
medication for high cholesterol
the Seaquarium
prayers in a language you can read but not translate
aviator sunglasses
lobsters on the kitchen floor
pets.
Leave them where they are;
don't touch them again.
Go to the orchard.
Strip branches of their leaves with one hand
as you run past.
The turkeys over the hill smell terrible
don‘t breathe in through your nose.
Hide with the dog in the ivy
where the rats crawl
where you're not supposed to go
and don't let him eat the poison
near the cellar.
Watch for snakes with flat heads.
Remember
cobras are more afraid of you
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