THREE POEMS by ASHLEY VARELA
return to sender
don’t believe everything the postcard says
i don’t wish you were here
fever dream
on the top floor
of my favorite mall
there is a room:
a room with the best air conditioning
and soft carpet interlaid with stars,
a room ringed with easels
of thomas kinkade cottages
that will only be sold
to the richest mall women.
in the center of the room
is the most magnificent bubbling pond
out of which
all the dead mall cats come,
suds in their fur,
purring
to be pet like kittens.
pet them.
you must.
pissing contest
do you think you are
much lonelier than the moon?
“i doubt it,” she sniffs.
Ashley Varela (they/them) is a queer writer & author based in Seattle, Washington.