I’m not much interested

By Jessie Brown

in plastics, plastic surgery, surge protectors,
in protecting democracy; mock-
turtlenecks, especially with suits; in suits
at all; in gabardine; gabbing; gravel,
creosote.  Sodas of any kind, hotdogs,
dog-days, the Fourth. In going forth, in
force; in force in general. I’m not
much interested in generals, four-
star; in star signs, cyborgs, billboards,
spiels. In deals, in sales, in speed
in ski-mobiles, snowmobiles, personal
water craft. In craft tips, Q-tips,
French tips; in lacquers, fumes, solutions
that require masks. Shampoos, champagnes,
campaigns by ground or air, airspace, air rights,
waiving rights, waving banners, laminates.
Nylon, mylar, polyester. Anything
made without roots. Without love, or fear.

Jessie Brown is the author of two chapbooks, What We Don’t Know We Know and Lucky. Her poems and translations have appeared in local and national venues, including journals like The Comstock Review, Minerva Rising, and the American Poetry Review. She teaches poetry and collaborative workshops in the arts in the Boston area.