OXFORD, MISSISSIPPI; MIDSUMMER

by Emily M. Green

 

 

1
I get a job at Security Check, answering phones. They give me a cubicle and a headset. 
            The air conditioning makes my leg hair grow faster.

2
I take Spanish translation to fulfill a graduate school language requirement and break up
            with Eduardo. He offers to look over my assignments anyway.

3
Five nights a week, my roommate and I drink until we pass out. We eat too
            much pizza and fall asleep in front of the TV on the living room floor.

4
Some mornings, I don’t shower, just brush my teeth and change my shirt. Keystone
            Light leaks from my pores.

5
I try to talk to him, but he asks when. When will we get back together? Five years? 
            After soul-searching? There will never be another poem addressed to Eduardo. I             promise myself.

6
My boss pulls a cover sheet off the fax machine. Who’s Emily Green? she asks.

7
I can’t study Spanish. Te quiero is my grip on the sleeve of his suede jacket.

 

 

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