Labradorescence
published in Tuck Magazine
It is the same every night
vocalized kicks spasms fits
Swallow three moonstones
to see the future
lick the dove pendant
around the nurse’s neck
pluck the strings of lavender kites
ask the stars do I smell sick
Paper dolls are best made
out of lab test results
lashes dusted over their bodies
jello smeared across the face
Boys Love Ravishing Girls Like Dieters Love Greek Yogurt!
I finger those collection tube caps
arm in a pillowcase
Phlebotomy sounds like sex
sounds like fuck
in the back of a hearse
because death likes when young girls
work
Sheets are shrines against my bed
cough radicle
root
Etymology of Greek and Latin
breathing in the hospital rooms
Floors are always lime green
in the children’s ward
means suffering will end
I pick green candies
arrange them along my stomach
tell friends a tea-length chiffon dress
that makes others taste mint juleps
will do just fine for prom or a funeral.
*the italicized part is a mnemonic for phlebotomy’s Order of Draw
