by Teresa McMahon
Chicago is weird
outside the library
a man offers me
coffee nuts
I am polite
so I say no
tonight
went on a date
with a guy who
looks like James Franco
we bring up the B word
binge
let’s go
a different
date tells me
he found the
slasher films
I was in in college
I panic
he smiles
here, a story:
a little girl’s arm
bruised fingerprints
from the principal
in a closet
I am alone
it is cold
it is cold
in Chicago
but Boston has more
snow
my older sister sends me
pictures of our home
she says it is an
igloo
I want to be in an igloo
for my future honeymoon
this summer I want to kayak
grew up with a canoe
in my backyard
only ever canoed New Hampshire
when visiting
Uncle Eddie
who wasn’t an uncle
just
my dad’s friend
snow turns me into a child
on Michigan Avenue I am
crying
I am so happy
you are having
a good week
now tell me what you ate
list it so I know