Three Poems by Kathryn Ariel Mandell

Illustration by mundane_cartoons.

iii. october 2, 2015

i am whisking up my malaise
my energetic, my revolutionary impulse
this city is ours
its boulevards get bergamot, cow’s parsnip, yarrow & chamomile
the corner dominated by soporific lavender

it’s okay that i love to bake pies
20 cups of lamb’s quarters with iridescent violet fuzz and a pate brisée

we are feminists & practical witches

viii. home from the lake (camp hot ass)

camping gives me good feels that last into the urban destitution
and the insanity of the trip between west van and east.
ah, class divide, old foe;
you are borne, bled and crinkled on so many faces
calves made strong pounding pavement to the job
the alternative is
toes disintegrated
rotting away, decay hidden in thrift store new balances

so i’ve gone to my job, gotten strong at my job
burned and pissed off and praised
where i am paid two pints of ben & jerry’s half baked an hour
if i buy them at shoppers drug mart
rather than twinkling into noor as the hour hand ticks to eleven
then i’d bring home a single chilly carton

why do we live like this?
dude, toes disintegrating in the street
somebody get that guy a new
foot five grand
grab me my wallet
oh wait
fuck hey god

x. july 14, 2016

midsummer night in a twilight dream of some other better whenever
tranquil air, breathes like mauve lavender
i am in a refracted labradorite
pinned to the sky by a web of light
something like what us humans call love