Maria opens a blue-white box
of Phillips Instant Flood
which gathers at her toes.
She becomes a conduit
(the room is filled with Epsom Salt)
and slowly oxidizes.
Now tarnish-green
she receives a visitor.
He is a lecherous old fool
who plates her all in bronze
heating her to flesh-warm temperatures
to pass as “fine” in private.
I used to have anxiety
in public places, shrinking
into phone-booth hideouts
to open up my shirt.
by Paul Fauteux
Paul Fauteux received his MFA from George Mason University, where he was the 2011-2012 Completion Fellow. His recent work has appeared or is forthcoming in Regime, Fat City Review and Sugar Mule, and for the advocacy of other fine poets on The Lit Pub. His first chapbook, “The Best Way to Drink Tea,” is out from Plan B Press. “How to Un-do Things,” a book-length manuscript, was recognized as a semi-finalist in the 11th Annual Slope Editions Book Prize.
