by Nelly W
This Is Where It Gets Tricky
We are rolling into the phases
where the complications outweigh the eases
We are about to embark on the sublingual
the subliminal
the dance solo without choreography
You did not get this in your performance review
This was not on the test prep worksheet, but will be needed later
This was not on the map, but neither counted as ´there be dragons´
This maneuver has yet to be named
but will have a moniker as noble as a triple lutz
or a death spiral
or a pinwheel on the moon
We knew this part was coming with the rising action,
the rise in volume
and the change in tone
This will be how we set all things in relation to each other,
all setting compassionate boundaries,
all getting the broadcast just right
Dialed in,
tuned up,
once-overed
This was what we were all expecting
and for which no one was prepared
the augurs, innards, star charts, entrails all foretold
It is a birthright,
meted justice to all the wrongs
Yet how I’m to live today without alcohol is yet to be determined
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Nelly W once turned down a gift of an original Andy Warhol. She lives in Vermont with her shih tzu Lepidoptera (“Lepi W”) where together they pursue a Rilke-like lived-aesthetic replete with contemplation, philosophy, veganism, an ever-expanding-Zoom-a-verse, and curiosity over judgment.