Kendra
Ghosts
Take shape under moonlight,
materialize in dreams.
Shadows. Silhouettes
of what is no more. But
ghosts don’t
bother me. The day brings
bigger things to worry about
than flimsy remains of
yesterday. No, spooks don’t
scare me.
Gauzy apparitions might
prank your psyche or
agitate your nightmares,
but lacking
flesh and blood
they are powerless
to hurt you—cannot hope
to inflict the kind of damage
that real, live
people do.
Miss Teen Spirit Of The West
Is not the biggest pageant I’ve ever done.
But as regional pageants go, the prize money
is good, especially compared to the entry fee.
And every pageant I compete in keeps me
tuned up for heavier-weight competitions.
This one is in Elko, a five-hour drive from
Reno. Five hours, listening to my mom remind
me about stuff I don’t need to be reminded
about. Remember to keep your chin tilted
up and your shoulders back. Act like . . .
“The royalty you pretend to be. I know,
Mom. You’ve only told me that, like, eight
gazillion times. If I can’t remember it by
now, I never will.” The tone was testier
than I intended. Mom looks a little stung.
“Sorry. It’s just, I’ve got it, you know?”
Interstate 80 is mostly flat Great Basin desert.
Salt flats, sage, and carrion. Not much to excite
the eye or stimulate conversation. I guess
YOU ARE READING
Perfect
PoesíaEveryone has something, someone, somewhere else that they’d rather be. For four high-school seniors, their goals of perfection are just as different as the paths they take to get there. Cara’s parents’ unrealistic expectations have already sent her...
