Januray 2022
Bio Note: I am the author of the poetry collection Kissing the Long Face of the Greyhound, the Russian historical novel Infraction, and several other books. I sell my published poems individually in two vending machines in Chicago—one at a bookstore and one at brew pub—to raise money for a local nonprofit arts organization. My most cherished poetry moment is when Pat Hughes, Voice of the Chicago Cubs, read a stanza of my poem "And Then the Nap Takes Me" on air during a Cubs game.
Coffee Break
The little milk jugs from the grocery store
are so shapely now, I feel slightly risqué,
unzipping the outer plastic so I can get
to the cap and open the bottle. It’s almost
as if I’m undressing a tiny little woman
with milky white flesh, exposing the curves
of that diminutive body for anyone to gaze on.
Some women have been angry with Billy Collins
for removing the clothing from Emily Dickinson
in his poem, including unhooking her tightly laced
undergarment, though it’s hard to know with certainty,
for those of us outside the poem’s walls and peering in,
whether she gave consent from the afterlife
for this poetic undressing. And now, as my hand
circles the slender waist of the organic milk,
it’s easy enough to imagine that a corset
may have played some role in the hourglass figure
of my pint-sized dancing partner as we waltz our way
to the little metal pitcher near the espresso machine.
Just so you know: things are about to get steamy.
©2022 Yvonne Zipter
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