In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

  • Housesitting Without a Prescription
  • Benjamin Goldberg (bio)

The floor is baseboards and rusted nails and my table. Dinner is cold cuts on wheat with a pinch of sawdust, and my directions are to empty each room into plastic bags. From doorjamb to staircase, I turn the foyer into a gallery of our glass. Tonight, I trust only what might slit the length of a snake: a rake’s teeth upturned in the lawn, kitchen knives twined to each curtain rod. My mother’s away. I must remember she’s not a vase. Nor is my brother a bedroom paneled with mirrors. Nor am I, while I’m here, the hammer. [End Page 22]

Benjamin Goldberg

Benjamin Goldberg’s poems have appeared or are forthcoming in Best New Poets 2014, TriQuarterly, West Branch, Ninth Letter, Blackbird, Verse Daily, and elsewhere. He lives with his wife outside Washington, D.C., and currently attends the MFA program at Johns Hopkins University. Find him online at www.benrgold.com.

...

pdf

Share