When I Was a House Fly
By Laura Villareal
Like you, I entered through the door
& like you, I buzzed
toward any promise of light.
Often, I couldn’t tell the difference
between an offering
of a window or a door.
All day, I’d struggle against the pane
of glass in hopes I’d be welcomed back
to the outdoor world.
When my existence was too much
I dodged flyswatter & newspaper.
Y’all put a little curse on my name
when my wings lifted me
out of danger. All I wanted,
was a lifespan like a breeze—
to never see the future’s horizon. Laura Villareal is a poet and book critic. Her debut poetry collection, Girl’s Guide to Leaving (University of Wisconsin Press 2022), was awarded the Texas Institute of Letters' John A. Robert Johnson Award for a First Book of Poetry and the Writers' League of Texas Book Award for Poetry. She is currently an associate with Letras Latinas, the literary initiative at the University of Notre Dame’s Institute for Latino Studies.
12/12 / Poetry Reading and Conversation with visiting poet-in-residence Nicole Cooley + local writer Caroline Cabrera / The Gallery 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
One workshop remains in our Workshop Series--SWWIM Lessons: From Prompt to Placement: “Surfing Submittable with Jen Karetnick – Keeping your head above water in the poetry submissions process” on 12/10 (register here). Price: $80/workshop. Time: 7:00–9:00 PM (EST). Where: Zoom.
Note: SWWIM Every Day is now accepting poetry translations for publication consideration. Please see swwim.org/submit for the full guidelines.
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