november 9th 2016

by Nicole Bennett

when did you find out?
i ask my roommate
because i don’t
have to tell her

the radiator jostles
furiously
like the cage
of a desperate bird

the sirens warbling
past the bathroom window
scream like children
still moist from
the trauma of birth

i turn on the water

hot vapor rises
from the open window
in clouds
thick and monstrous
and sinks into the morning air

this has been the coldest
day of the month thus far

Nicole Bennett is a delightful young poet who loves to make herself laugh. She currently lives in Rockville, Maryland, although she was born and raised in the smothering heat of Austin, Texas. While she has yet to assimilate into the American workforce, she intends to once she graduates from her beloved Oberlin College in 2019. More of her work can be found in The Plum Creek Review, as well as in Vending Machine Press this December, but she encourages anyone looking for an engaging social media experience to follow her on Twitter @icyonic.

Photo by: Ana Prundaru