STEPHANIE VALENTE
Marabou Feathers
you built us a room:
better than sunken living rooms
with blue-light & dawn-light,
staying up all hours with records
we’ll speak in a new, private vocabulary
sleep – is for other people
the living still daydream after all
in this mirrored room, me always in white
you in grey, pomade blonde hair
you are always grey,
my feet covered in feathers
the secret is: we stole
all of the laughter in the world
my shoes, your hands
fighting against dawn.
better than sunken living rooms
with blue-light & dawn-light,
staying up all hours with records
we’ll speak in a new, private vocabulary
sleep – is for other people
the living still daydream after all
in this mirrored room, me always in white
you in grey, pomade blonde hair
you are always grey,
my feet covered in feathers
the secret is: we stole
all of the laughter in the world
my shoes, your hands
fighting against dawn.
You Still Don't Want to Get Married
but I still Think about Being Your Wife
but I still Think about Being Your Wife
in our marriage, there are Eames chairs,
mid-century modern furniture, spontaneous
travel plans to palm springs, pale-pink fake nails for me,
a blazer for you – i’ve never seen you in a coat. you’ll frame
my face under the palm trees: lush + green + missing dew
i’ll never cook, but i’ll suck you off in a big leather chair,
we’ll redo the study every year, i’ll never want a baby.
we’ll kiss all the time. our friends will hate it.
you’ll call me darling & we won’t celebrate Valentine’s day.
i promise not to call when you’re out too late.
mid-century modern furniture, spontaneous
travel plans to palm springs, pale-pink fake nails for me,
a blazer for you – i’ve never seen you in a coat. you’ll frame
my face under the palm trees: lush + green + missing dew
i’ll never cook, but i’ll suck you off in a big leather chair,
we’ll redo the study every year, i’ll never want a baby.
we’ll kiss all the time. our friends will hate it.
you’ll call me darling & we won’t celebrate Valentine’s day.
i promise not to call when you’re out too late.
Would you Look a Gift Horse in the Mouth?
my heart is made out of palm trees:
a forest hiding in a cocktail skirt.
i’ll tell you oceans & let you borrow
my hands for the length of a story.
this birth is a gift, but only
if we really know each other.
look, if you listen closely, i left
part of me in a green leaf.
you can find me in the venice canal.
right, friend?
a forest hiding in a cocktail skirt.
i’ll tell you oceans & let you borrow
my hands for the length of a story.
this birth is a gift, but only
if we really know each other.
look, if you listen closely, i left
part of me in a green leaf.
you can find me in the venice canal.
right, friend?
STEPHANIE VALENTE lives in Brooklyn, NY. She has published Hotel Ghost (Bottlecap Press, 2015) and waiting for the end of the world (Bottlecap Press, 2017) and has work included in Susan, TL;DR, and Cosmonauts Avenue. Sometimes, she feels human. http://stephanievalente.com