Emily Brown

WELL I’M STILL IN MY BODY

i have soured on the current discourse

alexa, play my heart will go on

alexa, play white flag

in my dreams i can do a perfect push-up but i never get to fly

in real life i scatter my thoughts in short bursts

on the internet i am beautiful and well liked

in school i never knew when to shut up

i am still there with my hand trying to touch the ceiling

i am out of my seat

i am not saying the pledge of allegiance but mouthing it

EMILY BROWN is an editorial assistant at Poetry Northwest and The Iowa Review, and received her MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Her writing appears in Denver Quarterly, glitterMOB, Prelude, Sonora Review, and Lambda Literary’s Poetry Spotlight.