When I sing in the shower, the tiles slink down the walls and bow before me like subjects in awe of their sovereign. Summertime, an’ the livin’ is— But to talk’s to tic to vocal twitch giggle scat slip interference interruption inept dither glitch HHHHRRRMMMM sudden, repetitive, stereotyped utterance On tenuous first dates I take small sips from large cups and reply with faltering neutrality: the rain this hair the fork and the crumbs and the coconut HHHRRMMM Last night my timber voice fell full swing, stage lush onrush, born burred, tipping the microphone into a lower key.
Lauren Russell is the author of the chapbooks Dream-Clung, Gone (Brooklyn Arts Press, 2012) and The Empty-Handed Messenger (Goodbye Better, 2009). She holds an M.F.A. from the University of Pittsburghand will be the Jay C. and Ruth Halls Poetry Fellow at The Wisconsin Institute for Creative Writing for 2014-2015.
