By Luciana Arbus-Scandiffio

I cut the crowd loose, I stack the deck twice
I feed you shrimp cocktail
I sort through the loose mail
When it rains, it worms and we blow the house down
Wishing on the wick
I am the boss of this clique!

My uniform is a pebble, my mouth
Hums trouble. All I do is stay inside
One-legged, I hide
In the clutter of my mothers
Turning red with permanent marker
Wasting hours with Colonel Mustard

Eating ring-dings for dinner
Singing happy birthday forever
On Facebook, searching father
Then deleting my browser
Faceless, I cower and wave to the mirror
Eating the angel hair of the dog

---

Luciana Arbus-Scandiffio is a poetry fellow at UT Austin’s Michener Center for Writers. In 2018, she received an Academy of American Poets prize (selected by Dorothea Lasky). Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Gulf Coast, Phoebe Journal, Cutleaf, and elsewhere. Luci has two lesbian moms, and is originally from New Jersey.