A violet velvet robe
embroidered with
hundreds of lilting
LOLs. A self-help
book I didn’t ask
for, but received
three copies.
A shoulder kiss.
A mist that stank
through the wrapping
and strangled
the rest of Christmas
with cinnamon—
I did it,
I touched
that third grader
he said as we
scraped plastic spoons
against the scraps
in our yogurt cups
at the school
for troubled teens.
That’s what my father
called it. Cassie
called it the island
of misfit boys,
though we were there.
Eating Disorders,
cutters, druggies,
depressives—
he didn’t fit in,
and when the staff
knocked into his
lunch tray or
stepped hard
on his sneakers,
I said nothing.
DON’T GIFT
RESPONSIBILITY
an animal shelter site says.
My mother used
to gift wrap empty
boxes and leave
them on the sill
as decoration.
Does it matter
what happened
to him? What’s inside
the box didn’t
bite my hand.
Still I abandoned it.
embroidered with
hundreds of lilting
LOLs. A self-help
book I didn’t ask
for, but received
three copies.
A shoulder kiss.
A mist that stank
through the wrapping
and strangled
the rest of Christmas
with cinnamon—
I did it,
I touched
that third grader
he said as we
scraped plastic spoons
against the scraps
in our yogurt cups
at the school
for troubled teens.
That’s what my father
called it. Cassie
called it the island
of misfit boys,
though we were there.
Eating Disorders,
cutters, druggies,
depressives—
he didn’t fit in,
and when the staff
knocked into his
lunch tray or
stepped hard
on his sneakers,
I said nothing.
DON’T GIFT
RESPONSIBILITY
an animal shelter site says.
My mother used
to gift wrap empty
boxes and leave
them on the sill
as decoration.
Does it matter
what happened
to him? What’s inside
the box didn’t
bite my hand.
Still I abandoned it.
Lexi Pelle was the winner of the 2022 Jack McCarthy Book prize. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Rattle, Ninth Letter, One Art, Abandon Journal, and 3Elements Review. Her debut book, Let Go With The Lights On, will be released in May.
©2024 Volume Poetry
Join our mailing list:
Join our mailing list:
Follow us on instagram.
Submit your work to Volume:
submissions@volumepoetry.com
Submit your work to Volume:
submissions@volumepoetry.com