alcohol – south broadway press

ALOE: AFFLICTION. GRIEF. BITTERNESS.

BY VANESSA R. BRADLEY

I get a sunburn at your funeral.
My mother slathers me with cheap
aloe, sticky and dyed green.

I bought an aloe plant cause I liked the way
it felt when I pressed leaves
between fingers

and you told me aloe is for grief.

I look it up after in the book you left behind
soothing burnt, aching shoulders
with vermouth from the family fridge.

Page 30: bitterness and grief in floral language
Break off a piece and squeeze until it bursts

It tastes like shower cleaner and acid reflux
the sound of my own voice in a snowstorm
a shot of rubbing alcohol
a still green banana
that time you ate brie and yelled at me when you felt sick—

----------How could you let me
----- do this to myself?

Vanessa R. Bradley (she/her) loves fantasy novels and writes a lot of poetry about dirt, divorce, and discovering queerness. She lives in Epekwitk (PEI) with her wife, where she is working on a collection of poetry about the meaning of flowers. You can find her on Instagram @v.r.bradley and on Twitter @vanessarbradley.

Slurred croak cracked collarbone

head shaved tight to the pinking flesh

a pure invention of street life

synthesized and wired for direct current

breakfast juddering under ultraviolet

charred and caramelized with a blast

of woodsmoke as coffee is guzzled syllables

sputtering from misshapen tongue

the stink of syrup of hot sauce and vinegar

silence hanging heavy between

the throb of another morning and the stale

breath of the previous night

no recollection pervades his damaged mind

of how besotted the leather drool

of survival staggered him homeward

through greased and gut-churning detour

steel-pinned and bone-plated with memory

of smoke and gasoline he lights his flame

in competition with the rising sun

a crimson sky his furnace.

Paul Ilechko is the author of the chapbooks “Bartok in Winter” (Flutter Press) and “Graph of Life” (Finishing Line Press). His work has appeared in a variety of journals, including Juxtaprose, As It Ought To Be, Cathexis Northwest Press, Inklette and Pithead Chapel. He lives with his partner in Lambertville, NJ. FB: pilechko Insta: njscattista

Tag: alcohol

Aloe: Affliction. Grief. Bitterness. // Vanessa R. Bradley

ALOE: AFFLICTION. GRIEF. BITTERNESS.

BY VANESSA R. BRADLEY

Dawn as an Act of Survival – Paul Ilechko