Two Poems

Complete Terms And Conditions

I thought on the air I breathed in,
My lungs taking it, and expelling out
The variations of light in my iris, and the feeling of bereavement; 
Not on loss, but on my own vindictiveness
My own ledger full of the profit and leisure
Hand scribed so there are no tall tales.

The kitchen is cobalt blue
Sinking into the ochre chair
Believing in goldenrod traumas,

I will destroy every town
Every friendship
Every understanding
Just to not let you know my side of the story–
That is how you walk out of a place,
With vigor.

***

Devilkin

Behind our contention is a serpent
Abstract prisms and star alignment be damned,
Did mercury in retrograde make you finish off the bottle?
The previous episode of life will be remembered hazily
The next iteration is hanging in the balance,
This particular fever dream you’ve manifested is light work.

Spitting at your god
I feel mighty in my dissociative nature
Calling in every favor owed.

No one is on the other side of the receiver 
Frolic for a while
A coil of madness wraps itself around you
Cold pressing on your chest,
In your bones
The metal taste of blood during readings
The breeze is fire.
Looking for the onus,
Passing a mirror
A mirror
The mirror,
Waving that coil wrapped hand away in disgust.

Very few seconds,
Too much pleasure.

Joe Sonnenblick is a native New Yorker who was a regular contributor to the now-defunct Citizen Brooklyn magazine. Sonnenblick has been featured in publications such as In Parentheses for their 6th volume of poetry, The Academy Of The Heart And Mind, Impspire Literary Review, and The Bond Street Review. Upcoming publications include Aji for the Spring 2021 issue, and Ethel for the June/July 2021 issue. Follow him on Instagram @JS_Livingpoetrymovement

Artwork by Simone Hadebe