Seven of Cups (Reversed)

tempted in every respect
by Ingrid M. Calderon-Collins

here — let me romanticize this life for you

WARNING: IMPURITIES IN THE WATER ARE NORMAL IN LOS ANGELES

makes us resilient — gives us wings
that’s how you can tell us apart
we’re spread eagled
floating in our weather-worn existence

no number of sirens
helps drown out the helicopters
and I am jealous of the foods you eat

WARNING: OUTBREAK OF SEVERE LUNG DISEASE FROM E-CIGARETTES

243 days ago
my hands and feet went numb
nightmares made my teeth fall out
I grew a third breast

my tongue evaporated
evidence of the heavy exodus
somewhere on my iPhone 7

Ingrid M. Calderon-Collins (she/her) is an immigrant from El Salvador whose work has been featured in Thimble Literary Magazine, Rabid Oak, Punch Drunk Press, Mojave He[art] Review, FIVE:2:ONE amid others. She is the author of six volumes of poetry, Things Outside, Wayward, Zenith, Ablution, el destino de Abril, and Falling in Love in Los Angeles. She also hosts a monthly poetry reading series, They’re Just Words, featuring poets from all over L.A. County and beyond. Calderon-Collins lives in Historic Filipinotown, CA with her husband, painter John Collins.