Amy Saul-Zerby
Image by Andrea Aidekman
In Which Jennie's Cat Tries to Climb onto the Fridge
leaps onto
the counter, singes
her paws on
the stove & retreats
under the couch
to nurse
her wounds
we google what to do
to prevent a cat
from doing this.
there must be plenty
of cat owners with
electric stoves, i say.
she asks her roommate
if she wouldn’t mind
placing a pan filled with
water on the stove
after using it
a trick among
cat-parents
to keep their children’s paws
unscathed, a type
of baby proofing
there isn’t really much else
you can do
the cat wants
to get up there
it does not know whether
the stove is hot
i text a man i loved
an erotic poem, wish him
a happy belated
national orgasm day
ain’t a good poem until
someone dies,
says the man
in the poem, the couple
die connected
this is my only model
for love:
when my grandmother died
my grandfather said
he didn’t want to be here
without her
a month later, he was gone
so when you ask if i am tired
of nursing
my own wounds:
of course i am.
don’t i, too, want someone
to connect myself to before
i die?
it isn’t that i don’t
i just don’t think
it will make me any less
afraid
of dying.
the counter, singes
her paws on
the stove & retreats
under the couch
to nurse
her wounds
we google what to do
to prevent a cat
from doing this.
there must be plenty
of cat owners with
electric stoves, i say.
she asks her roommate
if she wouldn’t mind
placing a pan filled with
water on the stove
after using it
a trick among
cat-parents
to keep their children’s paws
unscathed, a type
of baby proofing
there isn’t really much else
you can do
the cat wants
to get up there
it does not know whether
the stove is hot
i text a man i loved
an erotic poem, wish him
a happy belated
national orgasm day
ain’t a good poem until
someone dies,
says the man
in the poem, the couple
die connected
this is my only model
for love:
when my grandmother died
my grandfather said
he didn’t want to be here
without her
a month later, he was gone
so when you ask if i am tired
of nursing
my own wounds:
of course i am.
don’t i, too, want someone
to connect myself to before
i die?
it isn’t that i don’t
i just don’t think
it will make me any less
afraid
of dying.
Modern Romance
after Aziz Ansari
after Aziz Ansari
don’t be afraid to send
the first message
try including
an emoji
try including
a gif
if you select
the right gif
even you could make
a connection
today
we are not alone
we are never alone
don’t worry: there are
so many fish
in the sea
don’t worry
just keep swiping
patience is a virtue
and virtues
are obsolete
gratify me
make me forget
that i hate
myself
use a condom
I don’t know you
like that
don’t go down
on me, that’s
too intimate
let’s just go down
on each other
we don’t even have
to have sex
just come back
to my place
it doesn’t mean that
we have to have sex
unless you want to
do you want to
you can say no
you can always
say no
we can stop
any time
you want
I don’t have
any condoms but
it’s up to you
I promise I’m clean
I promise
we don’t even have
to have sex
unless you want to
the first message
try including
an emoji
try including
a gif
if you select
the right gif
even you could make
a connection
today
we are not alone
we are never alone
don’t worry: there are
so many fish
in the sea
don’t worry
just keep swiping
patience is a virtue
and virtues
are obsolete
gratify me
make me forget
that i hate
myself
use a condom
I don’t know you
like that
don’t go down
on me, that’s
too intimate
let’s just go down
on each other
we don’t even have
to have sex
just come back
to my place
it doesn’t mean that
we have to have sex
unless you want to
do you want to
you can say no
you can always
say no
we can stop
any time
you want
I don’t have
any condoms but
it’s up to you
I promise I’m clean
I promise
we don’t even have
to have sex
unless you want to
AMY SAUL-ZERBY is the author of two poetry collections, Paper Flowers Imaginary Birds (Be About It Press, 2017) and Deep Camouflage (Civil Coping Mechanisms, 2018). Her poems have appeared in The Rumpus, The Chicago Review of Books, Maudlin House, Peach Magazine, Luna Luna, and Painted Bride Quarterly. She is editor-in-chief of Voicemail Poems and author of the Notable Philadelphia column at The Rumpus.