Articulation

Shannon Rao(?) | Fall 2021

01. It’s putting on chapstick and buying a new pack of sponges. It’s lacing up boots and using a makeup remover wipe. It’s searching for synonyms and sitting in silence. It’s looking out the window wanting to scream until you understand.

a. Lacking clarity and direction. It came out of nowhere. You need to keep it secret. i. The pancake was fine until you flipped it, start over again. 

02.I see it slashed with a dull knife and sprinkled into soup. I see it on a keychain and locked in a tank. I see it lighting a match and shattering glass bottles. I see it pressing a stamp onto an envelope the mailman will lose. 

a. Cut your hair. Your hair is too long. No one will believe you with hair that long. i. One day you’ll have to scrape your knee in a way that matters. 

03. I envy lighthouses and trees carved with hearts. I envy the curtain draped on a stage and the ink in a fountain pen. I envy the vase holding flowers and the scissors used to snip thread. I envy the stack of photographs on my desk of moments worth remembering. 

a. Look in the mirror. Face the facts. Those trends aren’t even in vogue.

i. Good luck navigating with a broken compass. 

04. It’s writing in a cafe and putting earrings in. It’s drawing a card from a deck and buying a candle. It’s sharing fresh cookies and zipping your purse. It’s picking out glasses frames when you can’t recognize your reflection. 

a. Change into your costume. Recite the lines. The auditorium is already filling up.

i. No one remembered to buy you a bouquet. 

05. I need to organize by color and look out into the river. I need to spread butter on bread and find my keys. I need to refill my prescription and turn the kettle on. I need to look at myself through the viewfinder when the camera is not out of film. 

a. It’s a farce. You don’t know who you are. Go where you are wanted. 

i. This will never be your home.