Keep the Door Ajar
By Mercedes Rodriguez
1. The apartment is dangerously cold at night. The hearth is a perimeter too far from my body. I’ve taken to freezing a glass of milk before bed And using it as a doorstopper. 2. Some days, the heat tickles my toes. Others, I’m peering through a crack, half-expecting The neighbor’s nativity scene to come alive— How long is too long when conspiring? 3. After saying yes to a sleepover, I wake to a lover Carelessly making his way to the bathroom. He reassures me he’s not an angry drunk. I never told him to pack a pair of slippers.
Mercedes Rodriguez is a poet from Los Angeles, CA. They are an MFA poetry candidate at North Carolina State University.
04/10 / Poetry Reading and Conversation with visiting poet-in-residence Chloe Martinez and local poet Ximena Gómez / The BBar at The Betsy-South Beach, Miami Beach, FL / Live and Live-Streamed on Instagram Live/Facebook Live at @swwimmiami / 7-8:30 pm EST / Free
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