Poetry by Madison Lazenby

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The Difference Between Midwest & Southern Hospitality

No surprise, I am still waiting for snow. Mine is
a shoes-off kind of one-bedroom one-bathroom
this side of campus. Nowhere near the Greek houses,
so it’s quiet. A seven-minute drive from the designated
free speech zone. I look for excuses to get out of town.
The festivals have different names, different vendors,
no parking. I bring strawberry shortcake
trifle, fresh guacamole, & powdered lemonade
to the party, no matter the occasion: A funeral.
An occupation. A teacher’s going away picnic. As long
as the fruit is in season. As long as I use
my mother’s recipe. The trees are bleeding
yellow onto the sidewalks & car windshields.
The caseworker at the hospital calls me baby doll.
I ask my gyno if she is planning on leaving the state.

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Aubade with Affirmations & a Dirty Kitchen

Forgot to run the dishwasher last night.
I wipe the knife on my t-shirt. I’m so fuckable

it’s ridiculous. I wash dishes by hand & the leftover green sauce
& yellow crumbs don’t touch my skin & make me want to die.

I have gloves for that. I’m so fuckable it hurts.
Only some of my waking hours are consumed

by other people’s feelings. Last night, I gave up
my bed in favor of the couch for fun, 

so that I could watch the sunrise through the screen door
& now I don’t need to straighten the sheets,

the comforter, or the pillows. I have better
things to do. In three hours or so, 

I will fill out a questionnaire on the quality
& sound of my thoughts in front of a nurse

& score highly. Tomorrow, I will wake up & hear
every version of “It Had to Be You” at once.

A traveling tour of Les Misérables is coming to town.
Soon after, the State Fair, with food trucks & pigs.




Madison Lazenby is a Pushcart Prize-nominated poet living in the Midwest. She has been the recipient of fellowships from Brooklyn Poets, the Looking Glass Rock Writers' Conference, and the Kettle Pond Writers’ Residency. She is currently a poetry reader for $ - Poetry is Currency and has been recognized by the Academy of American Poets.
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