I am Lannie’s frozen skin // watching // the crisp, white back of a girl at
the bowling alley // her graceful wrist attached to an 8-pound ball // The
girl pulls back // extends // releases // ugly form // beautiful form // I am
Lannie’s gut sliding like oil down the lane // I am her dilating pupils //
I am Lannie’s confused body // 13-years-old // daydreaming over cheap
food stand nachos // Nipping at a corn chip with inexperienced lips //
bright yellow cheese dripping // Watching the girl throw her head back //
laugh //
I am Lannie’s constricted throat // when asked What the hell are you
staring at? // I am Lannie’s pursed lips // holding back a retort sharper
than shoulder blades // I am Lannie’s crossed arms // wishing her
stepfather wouldn’t eye her // like a 7-10 split // Something // to be
knocked down //
Lannie Stabile (she/her), a queer Detroiter, is the winner of OutWrite’s 2020 Chapbook Competition in Poetry; the winning chapbook, Strange Furniture, is out with Neon Hemlock Press. She is a back-to-back finalist for the Glass Chapbook Series and back-to-back semifinalist for the Button Poetry Chapbook Contest. Lannie currently holds the position of Managing Editor at Barren Magazine and is a member of the MMPR Collective. She was named a 2020 Best of the Net finalist. Her debut full-length,
Good Morning to Everyone Except Men Who Name Their Dogs Zeus, is out now with Cephalopress. Find her on Twitter @LannieStabile.