Zoe Alexandra's short stories have appeared in "Best Lesbian Erotica 2007" (cleis press) and have been
translated into Italian for "Best Erotica 2007" (Arnoldo Mondadori Editore- Milan Italy). Her poems have
appeared in various online and print journals including Word Riot, The Commonline Project, Zygote in My Coffee,
Debris Magazine, Deconstruction Quarterly, Indite Circle, Silenced Press, Erbacce, Mad Swirl, Thieves Jargon, Word
slaw and the Cerebral Catalyst. Her poetry chapbook, "CockShy" is available through Scinntillating Publications.
She lives and works in New Haven, Connecticut. She is online at www.myspace.com/zoe_tang and
http://zoealexandra.blogspot.com/
translated into Italian for "Best Erotica 2007" (Arnoldo Mondadori Editore- Milan Italy). Her poems have
appeared in various online and print journals including Word Riot, The Commonline Project, Zygote in My Coffee,
Debris Magazine, Deconstruction Quarterly, Indite Circle, Silenced Press, Erbacce, Mad Swirl, Thieves Jargon, Word
slaw and the Cerebral Catalyst. Her poetry chapbook, "CockShy" is available through Scinntillating Publications.
She lives and works in New Haven, Connecticut. She is online at www.myspace.com/zoe_tang and
http://zoealexandra.blogspot.com/
Brave Ones
Feelings are
for people who
need them
Like describing the taste
of foi gras
it tastes just like the tender
liver of a murdered duck
I don't know
never had it
but I've had you
not for more than
a second or two
should that make me pine
and follow your voice like
an extension cord
to it's power source
I'm not sure if I could
give up me
so I could have you.
You are big and translucent
you say words that wrap
around trees and crash
chevy Malibus
Not everything's about you
in fact most things
aren't about either of us
I want you to feel small
I want you to walk outside
on a clear night in a forest
with tall trees
look up at the sky
know in your heart of hearts
that you are just an atom
a tiny speck
in the scheme of all of this.
Feelings are
for people who
need them
Like describing the taste
of foi gras
it tastes just like the tender
liver of a murdered duck
I don't know
never had it
but I've had you
not for more than
a second or two
should that make me pine
and follow your voice like
an extension cord
to it's power source
I'm not sure if I could
give up me
so I could have you.
You are big and translucent
you say words that wrap
around trees and crash
chevy Malibus
Not everything's about you
in fact most things
aren't about either of us
I want you to feel small
I want you to walk outside
on a clear night in a forest
with tall trees
look up at the sky
know in your heart of hearts
that you are just an atom
a tiny speck
in the scheme of all of this.
Zoe Alexandra
Preposition (a sort of pantoum)
You were milky white
and I was riding the train to nowhere
in particular
So, we both have skin and bones
but you re nothing like me
my mind is a locked box
my brain plays reel to reel
my brain plays technicolor
big screen clips
I could tell you about it
but you'd have no idea
what i was talking about
Everyone I love leaves
at one time or another
either that or
I leave
even while I'm loving you
even while you are inside me
even when you're kissing my cheek
with wet lips
I am taking two steps back
I am ready to pack my backpack
full of lip balm and dollar store perfume
I am playing the tape in rewind
and I am halfway gone
before you blink
You were milky white
so we both have skin and bones
my brain plays reel to reel
I could tell you about it
Everyone I love leaves
I leave
even when you're kissing my cheek
I am ready to pack my backpack
before you blink
There is no need for prepositions
beneath, upon, despite
I erase them from the tape
because they infer too much longing
instead I write verbs
run, pause, snap, claw
these words are all the ammunition
I need
You, on a bicycle
I am walking too fast
but your eye snags
me like a thread
caught on nail
suddenly,
you are my world
the only thing under
the sky
the sidewalk
is a afterthought
you don't have to know
me to infer
a few basic things
I am lonely
and starving
my teeth are crooked
it is humid outside
and I have pale skin
This is all you'll ever have to know
This is all you'll ever have to know
I am walking too fast
beneath, upon, despite
so we both have skin and bones
at one
time or another
and I was riding the train to nowhere.
You were milky white
and I was riding the train to nowhere
in particular
So, we both have skin and bones
but you re nothing like me
my mind is a locked box
my brain plays reel to reel
my brain plays technicolor
big screen clips
I could tell you about it
but you'd have no idea
what i was talking about
Everyone I love leaves
at one time or another
either that or
I leave
even while I'm loving you
even while you are inside me
even when you're kissing my cheek
with wet lips
I am taking two steps back
I am ready to pack my backpack
full of lip balm and dollar store perfume
I am playing the tape in rewind
and I am halfway gone
before you blink
You were milky white
so we both have skin and bones
my brain plays reel to reel
I could tell you about it
Everyone I love leaves
I leave
even when you're kissing my cheek
I am ready to pack my backpack
before you blink
There is no need for prepositions
beneath, upon, despite
I erase them from the tape
because they infer too much longing
instead I write verbs
run, pause, snap, claw
these words are all the ammunition
I need
You, on a bicycle
I am walking too fast
but your eye snags
me like a thread
caught on nail
suddenly,
you are my world
the only thing under
the sky
the sidewalk
is a afterthought
you don't have to know
me to infer
a few basic things
I am lonely
and starving
my teeth are crooked
it is humid outside
and I have pale skin
This is all you'll ever have to know
This is all you'll ever have to know
I am walking too fast
beneath, upon, despite
so we both have skin and bones
at one
time or another
and I was riding the train to nowhere.
The Crux
If a psychic told me I was going to
commit suicide
I'd probably weed through
my closet
in search of the
perfect dress,
a sweet plum,
or cranberry
and I'd just do it now
get it all over with
I've always had one foot on
the other side
It's like balancing on logs
in the middle of an ocean
I'm either treading water
or letting it take me under
If you told me
you weren't coming back,
that you were taking
a permanent vacation
from me
I'd spend the next few days
chiseling my name
into the perfect dull
slate tomb stone.
I love you madly.
We are both mad.
I think so.
I know so.
But some people are just
thin-skinned
you'll never get that
Instead you try to make
up fancy synonyms:
overly emotional,
melodramatic
tempermental
maudlin
some people are born
under the wrong moon
some people take their own
lives
because
it's just too much to bear
I'm on a see-saw
and there is carnival music.
I am a pendulum
I am holding on with one foot
I am this close to letting go.
If a psychic told me I was going to
commit suicide
I'd probably weed through
my closet
in search of the
perfect dress,
a sweet plum,
or cranberry
and I'd just do it now
get it all over with
I've always had one foot on
the other side
It's like balancing on logs
in the middle of an ocean
I'm either treading water
or letting it take me under
If you told me
you weren't coming back,
that you were taking
a permanent vacation
from me
I'd spend the next few days
chiseling my name
into the perfect dull
slate tomb stone.
I love you madly.
We are both mad.
I think so.
I know so.
But some people are just
thin-skinned
you'll never get that
Instead you try to make
up fancy synonyms:
overly emotional,
melodramatic
tempermental
maudlin
some people are born
under the wrong moon
some people take their own
lives
because
it's just too much to bear
I'm on a see-saw
and there is carnival music.
I am a pendulum
I am holding on with one foot
I am this close to letting go.