• About
    Masthead
    Contact
  • Archives
    Issues
    Poetry Fiction Nonfiction Interviews
Ligeia Picture
Ligeia Desktop Picture
  • Submissions
  • Search

2 Poems

By Kathleen Wallish
Winter 2021 | Poetry

wake eat make a living…

wake eat make a living

i have my rent and papers

to prove my non-existence

in the land of good intentions

apply mind-altering

shimmer to the fever blister

and suddenly you will feel

that which you know by name

hyperreal low-energy living

the high cost of a low life american

a prescription pad reflecting the evils

of sex positive spaces

a vulgar display my body

my rules my annihilation

microplastic organs in

payday loan heaven

My father feared I would follow…

My father feared I would follow in Karen Carpenter’s footsteps.

He said she ate from a dog bowl before she starved to death.

My consumption habits are still a sore subject—

Ritalin, carbs, and the Internet.

Shame is always a few minutes too late.

I wish I could return Jesus to the manger

in exchange for a crystal ball.

I might be compelled to embrace my powerlessness

if it wasn’t revealed to me by a man.

Kathleen Wallish is a writer in Baltimore, Maryland.


Other Works

Father Hunger

by Adelina Sarkisyan

... No longer / do I dream of love; I am ...

Read More

Trypstytch

by Ahimaz Ponrasa

... I couldn’t believe what she said ...

Read More

LIGEIA

About

  • Masthead
  • Submissions

Archives

  • Issues
  • Poetry
  • Fiction
  • Nonfiction
  • Interviews

Follow

  • Twitter
  • Instagram

© 2022 LIGEIA Magazine. Designed by Sean Sam.