January 18, 2022
Little TimeWe must go for a walkin the freshly-washedworld, he says.We must venture intothe thicket with cactiin our open corneas.There is so much to see,little time.Little time, trickling from an eave.Little time, dropping from leaves,falling,collecting, becomingserious puddles forpaper boats to cross.We must build a paper-boatin the freshly-puddledworld, he says.We must write our secretnames on the hull.Little boat, ...
December 16, 2021
Delightperfume, which by necessitymust diffuse violets dulling the noseto their own scent when I wasfour, the cow ate my dress mistakingpatterned violets for real ones then I wasthe girl now I am the cow you arethe dress you are the dress and so iseverything I touch
Laura Grothaus lives in Baltimore, the unceded territory of the Piscataway-Conoy. Interested in the politics of magic and memory, she’s at work on ...
December 08, 2021
SUMMER CAMP FIELDTRIP TO THE WATERPARK My white friend says you can’t swim, can you—as if she’s known the answer tothis question all her life—then changes the subject. Did you really wear a onepiece instead of a bikini? Before they unleash us into the park, the counselorstell us to follow the buddy system. But come on, the system is rigged. We knowwhich buddies will follow each other into the single-family ...
November 30, 2021
WISE WOMAN
Wise woman of Vermont, come out of the forest
Assure me I won’t die lonely in these woods, show me
How to keep owls out of my hair, tell me how
To stack wood, to shoot trespassers, to seal the cracks
In my heart to keep the ice out, promise me
A catamount won’t think I’m food
Make me a pot of venison stew
While you describe what to expect during ...
