What was
on only disturbed me more than the
static
White, black and grey static-muffled murmurs
The faces I saw that screamed in ALLCAPs
While a ghost pulled puppet strings


Dance around the kitchen for you; roll their eyes and
Stick out their tongues, knowing full well they can
Bother you. Sting the outsides of your ears like the buzz of bees
Around a juicy flower’s pollen. With the bodies they've left behind in your brain
They'll scratch the inside of your skull like someone who wakes up in a
coffin.
Watch your ideas—they could escape to someone else’s mind. Their eyes, arms and legs
Would tango in another kitchen, waltz into another study
Lay down and rest on another person’s paper. Speak
Back to your ideas—ignoring them is
Considered infidelity.


I once heard
That
And you hustle and bustle
Twisting your shoulders out of the city crowds that squeeze you
You could rejuvenate in the rain forest
Kick your legs out in the turquoise water
like the frogs that live there in the lake
They say there are black frogs that live there
And if you happen to catch one quickly before it wiggles out of your hand
And back into the water
And lick it
They say you can get high off the chemicals in the frog's skin.

If you find yourself in the infamous cold Brooklyn
And you hustle and bustle
Twisting your shoulders in and out through the city crowds
And you squeeze your way into a cramped apartment
You could find yourself in my arms
Kick your pants off and worship the Goddess that lives here; with your naked legs dancing.
A boy once licked my back, high
off the scent of my skin, he said "you have the most beautiful back I have ever touched."
I smiled.
"I have heard that once."


Anna Stusser’s work has been featured or is forthcoming, in Bluestockings, The Siren, The ARDOR blog, and Necessary Fiction. In 2013, she won the National Blueberry Month Photography Contest from Little Brown and Co on Instagram. Follow her on twitter @AnnaStusser.