I have sat with that term / homeland as the father
of the bride / drain my dowry and slaughter my
cattle / I place my foot upon a compounded back
to get / a better view of the scenery the dirt / you wash
away to asphalt and the cracks / giveaway to blades /
and the mutt’s glitzed up / trashing some uncareful
can / someone’s unfleshed / tampons are
domesticating / a dog’s attention to belong / one place
means to return each night / a homebody in a ring
shiny ‘n silver / and tagged / there are places to
register / this little red book / there is always one
more thing
I play interested / I slide down the widest pink / tongue
thrashing / carp overflow me / monthly I am mourning black-
velveteen / I’ll vomit for whomever / gaze at my rubyred scape
Madeline Vardell is an MFA candidate at New Mexico State University. She is the winner of the 2013 Kay Murphy Prize in Poetry, selected by Lara Glenum. Her work has recently appeared in Beecher’s Magazine, Bayou Magazine, Rhino, [PANK], and Whiskey Island. She lives in Mesilla, New Mexico.