Be My Anodyne

by Jenelle D'Alessandro

A language exchange apertivo
in which I question motives
as motorinos: gallant, flowering,
pivoting over asphalt
to avoid pedestrians.
You say I habitually roller-skate
on luxury vehicles for show:
these whispered dents —
indicators of alternative
planes and bifurcations:
Socratic body/soul conundrums,
in a dramatic reading, you
are Plato — I am the source of motion,
but I’ve not yet individualized.
The score: there are bass clefts competing
for over priced voice-overs. Always
the burden of proof, always the unspoken
lizards of apology

Jenelle D’Alessandro lives in Los Angeles. Her work has been featured in the Bitterzoet magazine, and elsewhere on the web. She is working on her first chapbook, a collection of homophonic re-imaginations of far-flung Whitman translations. Follow her @freshgreenbeans.

Photo by: Ana Prundaru