Kelsey Carmody Wort

O

O to be unloved     to be left alone
to watch a movie and sit     close to my
purse filled with tissues & green M&Ms

O to shiver against my hand     know precisely
how to use her     To cry soft and sure
into a mattress that only feels on one side

O to unlock a door for the silly thrill
of opening it    To have the perfect amount
of grocery bags so I walk up only once

O to lean against the door frame
and heave     Held up by the sturdiness
of a warm painted plant to sigh until

the noodles have cooked    To make     the stroganoff
recipe I don’t like for the chance I may surprise myself

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Kelsey Carmody Wort is an MFA candidate in poetry at Purdue University. She loves her home state of Wisconsin, pop music, postcards with painted flowers and dancing around her kitchen.