2 Poems by Kristin LaFollette

Skeletons

Buried beneath layers
of muscle, inscribed with
words in black ink,

secrets that no one can
see or know.  Discernment—
a feeling that you

know people, listening
and observing, an animal
with sharp yellow eyes.

There are things that
are very difficult to hide.
Responsibility—

The art of faking it.


Imperfection

I may ride my bicycle
on a trail paved with
black, the tires
occasionally spilling
over the side, the
rubber bulging as
if it might burst, my
heart tired and sweaty
from thinking too much—

Some people take pills
for pain, or maybe for
no reason at all—

I tell you things,
an expression that
I read as contentment,

a wife pregnant with
a girl child, a seizure
bringing that child to life,
pink skin, my heart still

fighting against the heat
of the Earth, beating hard,
anatomically correct,

imprinted with a roadmap
of blue and purple and

red.


Bionote

Kristin LaFollette received her BA and MA in English and creative writing from Indiana University. Her poems have been featured in or are forthcoming from Crack the Spine Magazine, Dead Flowers: A Poetry Rag, 2River View, FIVE2ONE Magazine, LEVELER Poetry Mag, Lost Coast Review, The Main Street Rag, and The Light Ekphrastic, among others. She also has artwork forthcoming from Harbinger Asylum. She lives with her husband in northwestern Ohio.  You can visit her at kristinlafollette.blogspot.com.