ADULT GROCERIES 

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Shelby Hartness is a poet & journalist from Half Moon Bay, CA. Her writing appears in D Magazine, des pair quarterly, SPECTRA, The Skirt Chronicles, and Wonder Press, among others. She earned her MFA in Poetry from St. Mary's College of California. More @: www.shelbyhartness.com ︎

01.  Browsing Pinterest Next To My Oscillating Fan

head backwards
on dirty sheets
pretty light harrowing
how a picture
of a woman's long hair
strawberry—I mean
down to her
feet gets me
down on my
knees inside my head
like the Courbet painting
I glimpse the moment
as quickly as a shot
of serotonin can
leave a lemoned
heart but I
remember it



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02.   angel food

as if plucked
by transparent force
i fall forward
candle-dilated eyes
traverse the inevitable
there is nothing
to reconcile a heart
belt straps the denim
‘round her waist
and lays there
shut still
holy-framed paint
fills a screen
we both attend to
earlier, you
with the angels
ass in the mirror
this Italian woman
allowing the man
to fuck her
for a piano
where i hide
near the pedals
when her legs
in the skirt
roll open
she gets to say wow
to her patient
a brooch is bought
with intention inside
i wear the art
up my sleeve and pull
all my hair out quietly
for the world
has a framework
of recognition
deep dive inward
scorpio placement
i have to sage
the entire town
the water is
a see-through blanket
in my sleep i hear it again
there is never true silence
all the lotions in a line
above her bed
for discretion
and to ease anxiety
she tells me ok
open your mouth
no hesitation
lemon balm in a tincture
with bourbon
I lift my tongue
copper
like taking
a commendable shot
i do