Ask the Trees
2024-Jun-01 • Glen Armstrong
I flip a quarter, and George Washington dares to tell me repeatedly that the days are getting shorter. I do not trust him. There are no depictions of him crying.
My Venus flytrap mocks my fascination with wooden teeth. That which is plant-based can be as cruel as that which bleeds. Ask the trees. Ask the rope all dressed up as a noose.
I rarely vacation. The sun wears me down, and the soothing waves of the ocean affect my memory. Stem cells give up their uniqueness as they let their environment define them. I have a conversation with a patriot at the beer cooler.
Glen Armstrong
Glen Armstrong (he/him) holds an MFA in English from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and edits a poetry journal called Cruel Garters. His poems have appeared in Conduit, Poetry Northwest, and Another Chicago Magazine.