[Poetry | Issue 10]

corinna schulenberg

calling

I do the thing to quit the thing. I quit the thing
to do the thing from another angle, by another
name. Can we call that progress? Can I call you
late, hands mucked with fresh scheme, plans
akimbo, throat thrumming with hope? I am
a lot. Some times. Too much. Or not enough,
depending on your perspective on sea gulls.
Once, I nursed a hurt gull back to health. It left.
This is called success. Once, a shark, car-long,
followed the full moon to our shallow dock.
Death is like that. It follows the bright things.
Back when I worked the late shift, the subway
made a rocking sound, the cluck of a tongue,
and I would peel my eyes against the lullaby.
Stay open to it, the light. It could call, any time.
Believe in the red wine raised in its right hand.
Believe in its left thumb, resting on your name.

 __________

About the author

Corinna Schulenburg (she/her) is a queer trans artist & organizer. She’s a mother, a playwright, a poet, and a Creative Partner of Flux Theatre Ensemble. Poems in: Long Con, LUPERCALIA,miniskirt magazine, Moist, Oroboro, SHIFT, The Shore,Okay Donkey,Poet Lore, and more. You can find her on X @corinna_schu  and Instagram @corinnaschulenburg1