smash and grab

by Simone Astrid

these are the plush-

stuffed bodies of 

ghost and darkness,

man-eaters,

waiting to return 

home, nefertiti cries. 

benin’s soldiers fight

for a kingdom lost.

marbles tossed on

ships chip

crack

sit

behind faces 

pressed on 

smudged glass.

cultural splintering,

people dispossessed, 

ishi and ota,

a fishbowl existence.

but there’s no dust

on the cases,

and tickets cost money,

and possession is 

nine-tenths of the law.

Simone is a poet living in Chicago and writing about their queer life. Find Simone in _voidspace, moth eaten magazine, and more. Twitter: @simoneapoetry