“Keepsake/Calamity” by Kyeren Regehr
Poetry Pause is the League of Canadian Poets’ daily poetry dispatch. Read “Keepsake/Calamity” by Kyeren Regehr.
Keepsake/Calamity
By Kyeren Regehr
Suck her toothbrush because it tastes like her
sweet minty mouth. Claim her roll-on her fruity
shampoo duo body wash face cream steal the air
out of her whole morning routine. Slip off
her pillowcase pj boxers stashed inside swipe the pair
of girl frogs from the alarm clock scoop all her bras
because we wear the same size—her silk on my skin lace
on my skin threadbare polyester on my skin. Find Perfect Peach
draw her lips onto my lips. Wrap her love-
worn scarf don her felt fedora sweat-stained inner rim
unbuckle her Mary-Janes kiss the soles hold her
hairbrush choked with brown curls
pocket the train-flattened lucky penny from her ring dish
wanting the same dark luck. Think about wet roads
boots high-heeled think about frozen cheesecake grocery store
bouquet think about body-as-rag-doll think about
tulips flung tires rolling over buds—mentally collect each bruised
and torn petal each crushed stem. Wander around touching
everything with shaking hands touching everything
scoff sushi leftovers think about her parents touching everything
boxing the apartment every side-of-the-road saucer every
mismatched wine glass—not knowing me from a neighbour.
Lift her coffee mug, press mouth against lip-print
leaf through the sleeve of Sharpied mix-cds burned by an old lover
press play on Our Songs cry over Dylan’s “Lay Lady Lay”
even though it’s not our song cry over all the songs
that are not our songs. Keep the CD and the wilting
fern from the windowsill her namesake—pack all of it willy-nilly
in a tote toss in her favourite black cherry spray and watch
in slo-mo as the lid flips and scent-bombs the lot.
Copyright © Kyeren Regehr
Previously published in The Litter I See Project.
Kyeren Regehr’s collection Cult Life, was a finalist for the 2021 ReLit Awards and The Victoria Butler Book Prize; Disassembling A Dancer won the inaugural Raven Chapbooks contest. Her poetry has been published in Canada, Australia, and the USA (Canadian Literature, The Literary Review of Canada, Best Canadian Poetry, Best New Poets, Hecate, etc.), and thrice longlisted for the CBC’s Poetry Awards (and was just shortlisted Eavesdrop Magazine’s Queer Joy contest!) Kyeren served as an editor on the poetry board of The Malahat Review, and is the Artistic Director of Planet Earth Poetry, one of Canada’s longest running literary reading series. She lives and write with gratitude on the unceded territories of the lək̓ʷəŋən peoples and the W̱SÁNEĆ peoples: həyšxʷq́̓ə siiem (thank you honorable ones).
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