pearls before

at AA
feeling very
”it was foretold”

headfirst
into oblivion
i launched
an a priori god

my brains blown out
in every parallel universe
grey matter pink,
coruscant gunpowder
sulfuric & aloft

but was there magic?
a compact space-heater
convects my knuckles
until & then after
they split

in the slow suck of time
each refresh is maddening
gravel underfoot

the world is our oyster as in
the world requires a dagger to crack

vibration of disbelief

chopping off
my hair i said
nothing, felt nothing
a clamshell simply
cracked open then closed

thin-cut cold
pink stream… rapids…
the turbulent churning of everyone i’ve ever loved

with & without me
futures & histories
flashing erratic & wild beneath the winking sun

vibration of disbelief
naked in the
unforgiving wreckage of a tuneless hum

i swear
i saw
the edge of things

COORS LITE

wasting money
playing keno
in the last best place
am i retired?
a poet,
on a leash

i ate my burger
all the way thru
what else do you want from me

endless, endless
pantomime
a star-spangled orange,
a recurrent rule of threes

i bent backwards
just so i could
touch my heels
and what did you do?
keep up with the news
just to tell others about it?

i saw the trains crash on the television
i watched the toxic cloud float over Palestine
Ohio and i applauded
the rogue beers in their bravery
as they broke free
and floated from
the railcar

Shy Watson is an incoming PhD candidate in Creative Writing at the University of Southern California. Her work appears in Fence, Southwest Review, Joyland, and elsewhere. Since graduating with her MFA from the University of Montana in 2023, she has received support from Monson Arts and the Lighthouse Works.