Between Noon and a Funeral by Annette Estévez


I order gin to celebrate

BIO

Annette Estévez is a Nuyo-DominiRican poet. Her poetry has been published in the e-journal, Typoetic.us and in the anthologies, Inside the Panic Room and The Abuela Stories Project. She has been a featured poet at the The Loisaida Center, La Mama Galleria, The City College of NY, and the Bronx Museum of the Arts.

the space in my day.

 

The bartender’s guest ID on my check identifies me as: Sola.

 

My other selves disagree.

My other selves ramble

to fill the space I excavate.

 

My other selves are strands

of my hair growing

at Ma’s house.

I moved out 5 years ago.

 

My other selves are cracked

mirrors distorting lipstick-

smudged death threats.

 

My other selves are unfinished

sketches; faceless women

wearing someone else’s mistake

as my displacement.

 

My other selves are line breaks

decontextualizing La Santa Maria’s

rosary beads.

 

My other selves are rusted

shears cutting along the dotted line

of today’s me;

a veil

I don’t remember writing.

The Acentos Review 2019