Samantha Gennett

 

One time on acid you puked for three hours straight
as you walked around the southern suburbs of Chicago
with your then-boyfriend, now-mimeograph.

Your vomit smelled like week-old chardonnay,
vinegary, faux-fancy cocktail of butternut squash
and spoiled grapes. Catnip—you fall in a bush

of it as your then-boyfriend, now-keepsake box
guides your dripping body through backyards,
seven million of them to be exact, you might be allergic

to catnip, your skin starts burning and you see orange pothole
shapes climbing up your ankles and disappearing into the skirt
of your babydoll dress that you wore to a rock show

and your cousin’s baptism. Licking flakes off your lips,
you think about the probability of falling in love
with your high school sweetheart and wonder

when your mouth will stop regurgitating technicolor
on the damp grass. You see Elizabeth Montgomery
wrinkle her nose at you through your vomit and then a baby

swaddled in rose petals, a cannon, fire.
You consider going back to school.
Your then-boyfriend, now-doorway

lifts you to your feet, legs peppered with grass,
and you debate between laughing and crying

at the sight of your new face.

 

Sam Gennett obtained a Bachelor of Arts in English from Lewis University. Her first chapbook, Schadenfreude, was published by dancing girl press in 2018. She currently edits for Witch Craft Magazine and resides in Chicago. She enjoys succulents, horror films, and unevenly bleaching her hair.