I Give My House Keys to My Ex
After the tidal surge
I check the basement.
A colony of fish swims in and out
of volumes of George Bernard Shaw.
Minnows dart in the salt water swirls
of my Maytag drum.
No longer Downy Fresh, clothes locked in the spin
cycle smell of blood and iron.
Toenails plucked from my waterlogged feet
are painted beetles floating toward their destiny.
A big fish lurks in the cave of the stairwell;
as two huge pupils prey on me
and dinosaur fins whirlpool my furniture.
The old television tube is oranged with goldfish.
I tell my ex he can take back the house
I won in the divorce.
He wants the complete works of Shakespeare,
a gift from one of his girlfriends.
I leave the keys under the mat.
The cat and I take a Southwest flight to a dry climate.
Without benefit of electricity,
rising water marries him to the ecosystem of my drowned life.
~*~
Waiting for my Xanax Script to be Filled
Parked in the CVS lot
in unairconditioned July
I fold into the steering wheel and scream
A priest appears at my window
asks if I’m alright
yes, I’m good
I sit up and put my hands at ten and two
He disappears into a cloud
and I start keening
but this time with the radio on
He would have bought me a Poland Spring
a pack of chewing gum
rode shotgun without a seat belt
prayed for my lost soul
if I had unloaded my shit to him
A for effort Padre
you trusted my good
answer
I forgive you for believing me
Vicki Iorio is the author of the poetry collection, Poems from the Dirty Couch from Local Gems Press 2013, and the chapbook Send me a Letter from dancinggirlpress. You can read Iorio’s work in Hell strung and Crooked, I Let Go of the Stars, (Great Weather for Media), The Brownstone Poets Anthology, The San Pedro Review, The Mom Egg, Crack the Spine, The Painted Bride Quarterly, The Fem Lit Magazine, Redheaded Stepchild Magazine, The Paper Street Journal, Poetry Bay, Home Planet News,Concise, Cactus Heart, Rattle on line,South Florida Poetry Journal, 521 Magazine,RatsAss Review, New York Times, blog site, Poetry Super Highway, Eratio Poetry Journal, In Between Hangovers, Conch.es, Anti Heroin Chic, Misfit, Califragile Poetry, and Poetry Pacific.
Featured Image by Jonah Fine
