Natalie Carpentieri

Mirrors

She spent most of the day
tearing down mirrors around the house;
they reflected every small imperfection:
a dented apple, a single dandelion
in a sea of green.
Her bloodstained fingers drew water
left her branding on porcelain
as she lowered herself into the steam.
Submerged, an aberration

(Originally appeared in Sunken Lines)




Golden State

So many things were sold or given away
for practical reasons, as a move like this
means that you have to let go of everything
that held you tethered to your old life.
You remind yourself that it was only furniture -
a bed, some dressers and assorted things like
lamps and stuffed animals that you don't really need.
It's all dead weight in your car when you're
driving literally across country on the
longest highway in the U.S. and drinking cup after cup
of coffee to make sure that you don't fall asleep.
You want to make it there intact,
even if your heart doesn't.
So when those wheels spin into your Golden State
and the beaches and the bright sun welcome you
with open arms, you feel like it could really be
somewhere you can unpack once and for all.

(Originally appeared in Illogical Muse)




Perfect morning

Your scent left behind
on my sheets wakes me first.
The candles are burned
down to the end of their
wicks. Soon, the smell of
breakfast wafts into
the bedroom. I rise,
wrapped in my comforter,
follow the smell of maple
and breakfast sausage,
drop the bulky bedspread and
wrap you with me.


Natalie Carpentieri was born in Washington, DC, raised in New Jersey and now calls California home. She has written from her teen years on, but only started taking poetry seriously in her twenties. Her poems have appeared in online journals such as Thick With Conviction, Illogical Muse, Baker's Dozen Literary Review, Sunken Lines, Drown In My Own Fears, Decompression and Gold Wake Press. Natalie is a technophile, whose area of expertise is computers. She also enjoys music, rollerblading, photography, drawing, yoga, the beach and hiking.
 

Current Issue:
January 2013

Mandy Jo Angleberger
Natalie Carpentieri
Holly Day
James H. Duncan
Don Kloss
Kirby Light
Raina Masters
Linda Price

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