On Demand, and: Processing Imperfections Over Lunch
- On Demand, and: Processing Imperfections Over Lunch
On Demand
Come on, honey, give me a smile,my face slack like a marionette dangling on a nail,an intricate choreography of a dozen muscles,a porridge of Latin names,Zygomaticus major in charge—a grin in repose, defiantly blasé.I don't owe this stranger or this worldmy smile,my pretty,my perfected body.Cables that stretch my lipsto placate and fit in,Lemurs, gorillas, chimpanzees,furry brethren,all consider smiling an act of aggression,a menacing display of dental prowess.So today, I'll navigate with the ancestors,glide through city streetsflashing a hint of incisor on my terms—aware that an unexpected delightcould trip this complex systemof rigs and pulleys,baring all. [End Page 262]
Processing Imperfections Over Lunch
I don't need a mirror to study my imperfections,count my flaws,catalog my failings,My friends are here to do it for meover grilled chicken and Caesar salad—Not overtly, not with malice aforethought,we're here to catch up, right?I love them and they love mebut our tribe is steeped in self-loathing,reflecting back infinitely upon each of us,like a carnival fun house.The ritualistic flagellation,warped perceptionsof bellies and wrinkles,the less-than status updates,Light chatter,self-deprecating banter,Passing the whip fromperson to person,I'm small and imperfect,now your turn,Bonding through bondage,breaking ourselves downto connect with the shards, [End Page 263] I'll take my salad with a glass of rosé,its petal-soft pinkthe color of blood and water. [End Page 264]
Linda Flaherty Haltmaier is an award-winning poet and screenwriter. She is the poet laureate of Andover, Massachusetts, and the winner of the Homebound Publications Poetry Prize for her full-length collection Rolling up the Sky. Her debut chapbook,Catch and Release, was published by Finishing Line Press, and her new collection of poetry, To the Left of the Sun, will be published by Homebound Publications in September 2018. She was named a finalist for the Princemere Poetry Prize and the Tucson Festival of the Book Literary Award. Her poetry has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and has appeared in journals and anthologies including Wildness: Voices of the Sacred Landscape, Ink & Letters, Poetry Breakfast, and more. She can be reached at lfhaltmaier@comcast.net.
