If you tip, you can touch me, she murmurs as I linger 
to catch up with where the life has taken me:  

a pish-posh hotel in a Soviet state with strippers 
beautiful enough to wear a Miss Universe crown.  

To the beating heart of the American pop rock, she tip-tops 
on the naked tiles towards me. I pretend  

not to speak her language, hiding behind  
foreign fashions. When she suddenly swirls  

on the pedestal to showcase what I had paid to see,  
I choke on the realization of what the life has taken me away from: 

the flesh-to-flesh mecca for the middle-aged tourists; the use  
of female body as a means for escape.  
  

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lena Zycinsky is a poet and artist. Author of numerous books and shows, she has been published in New York Times, Consequence and Poetry Archive among other places. She is currently a low-residence MFA student at NYU Paris. Born in Belarus, she has lived in the US, the UK and Greece. More information:  Lenazycinsky.com

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Donald Patten is an artist from Belfast, Maine. He is currently a senior in the Bachelor of Fine Arts program at the University of Maine. As an artist, he produces oil paintings and graphic novels. Artworks of his have been exhibited in galleries across the Mid-Coast region of Maine. His online portfolio is donaldlpatten.newgrounds.com/art