Drop to your knees—
this is not about God it is about
hedonism and sunshine,
the little nets around lemon halves
meant to squeeze on oysters,
kissing a stripper named Britney
in your boyfriend’s bathroom,
it is about mouth-kick-dumb youth,
all forms of idolatrous want,
Sachertorte, champagne, and coffee
in a formal dining room,
how you look at me differently
when we are alone
—say yes to every double dog dare.
***
Zoe Contros Kearl is a queer writer based in Vermont. Her writing can be found in or is forthcoming from Hobart, Neutral Spaces, Kenyon Review, Beacon Quarterly, and elsewhere. Zoe holds an MFA from Columbia University and a BA from New York University’s Gallatin School.
***
image: M.M. Kaufman
Rejection Letters 