In the Bedroom in Florida

In the Bedroom in Florida

By Nora Glass

A gnawing warmth emerges from the bedsheets Pools on my

cheeks, towers from the bedposts 

One, two, six pieces of owl memorabilia 

A statue, a clock, a curious succulent pot 

Golden frames ornate the (antique) wooden surfaces

Not a single picture taken later than 2010 

The senior portraits of my mother and her sister

Those pearls the coolest thing in the room 

The painting above your head is crooked, 

The young lady leers, hand on a vase 

Supple, lipsticked, hand on cheek 

Like she’s some other piece of your family 

She’s a print in a frame (no physical paint) 

And you can see her mocking eyes from anywhere in the room 

That tall mirror, pillows strewn on the floor 

And the bed with mattress comes up to your chest. 

It’s lapping at you sports bra hangs from the bedpost

A white flag because you have given up on neatness 

The room is wallpaper yellow, grimy butter 

Cut by the glittering fan, and still 

It’s so goddamn hot in here.