Poetry by Nicole Marie Curtis

     Rachel Kramer CC



Water is Water


Eleven years old, and my forehead
sears against the truck’s window.

Bob Seger teaches me about love, sex, and death over the radio.
My father drives home through the desert,

away from the Colorado River.
I loved leaving that blue snake behind!

Seven of us in the car 
Only three awake, 

my father, Bob, and me. 
This part was the vacation. 

Learning some good Midwestern lessons
the primary way my father taught them — music. 

At the river, I wore a special shield,
and it weighed me forward with a slump I still schlep. 

I pretended to like the smell of diesel.
I buried sun-blistered fear. 

I chased tanned boys to feel something, 
and my genetic alcoholism sprouted. 

My God, I thank You every day that 
Water is water 

— and on the water —away from the mess --
No one was more capable

than this ungrateful little bitch.

10 years old and launching boats, 
13 and towing a jet ski down river. 

A horse fly bite so bad, 
I howled like a cat caught by the tail. 

When I came to shore with that welt,
I was surprised my father was still sorta sober.

He said, She bit ya, kid
and ruffled my wet hair. 

At 36, I told my father the river was a nightmare
Crashes, bangs, bodies hit the floor. 

DV reports 24-years ancient,
but I am always already flayed.

I told him how much I hated those drunk vacations 
and for one second, we met in the middle.

How can we seed friendship
instead of acrimony eternal?

Hot head, cold toes. 
Bob Seger fills the cab.

My father sings, and he has a nice voice. 
This is the part where I vacation.  





The Zoo


Just this once
I’d like to be a singular animal

instead of the entire zoo.
Caging my ugly things

even when I know they
will out eventually.

How to tell you I was hit in the face
by a drunk ex 

the same way my drunk father
hit my mother?

and then again, I wonder if it’s
a thing I must tell at all?

​
​

Nicole Marie Curtis is a poet, fiction author, sailor, camper, hiker, daughter, sister, and aunt. She was born in La Porte, Indiana and raised in Whittier, CA. She holds onto those Midwestern roots and celebrates growing up in Los Angeles County. Her work focuses on family and its effect on the individual, heartbreak, and rebuilding intimate relationships in sobriety, whether they are romantic, friendly, or familial. She lives and works in Southern California.