Andrea Krause

If You Take Silence for Distance

I'm an introvert far far away, disguised
in mineral make-up, permanent

solace reveals a shy pearl. When today circles
around, will I be afraid of its face? I combed

out my middle part to protest the loud
asymmetry. The clock is crossing its arms,

ambivalent about noon. I’d bet on
luck, but I’m already indebted to wishbones

and cortisol. Don’t tempt me to believe
in broken clocks and coincidences. Look

at the bedazzled roadkill going South
on I-5, posed like a feather boa,

tragi-quirky. The wind blows from here
through filleted ribs like a stranger.

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Andrea Krause (she/her) lives in Portland, Oregon with her family. Her work is published or forthcoming in: Maudlin House, Autofocus, Kissing Dynamite, Sledgehammer Lit and elsewhere. She nods along on Twitter at @PNWPoetryFog.