Four Nights of Dreaming

by Nicole McKeon

I

I am                 youth incarnate

a young boy

            full of blood

I am

running away from home

            (or)

I am

jumping on the train

stowaway daydreams

my younger brother

            tries to follow

his small palms are slippery

            with sweat

he falls back on the tracks

hard

he is not moving

I do not move

II

Our shiny badges proclaim

three letters

we are looking for

a missing child

a dead child

we are in the home of a

            too tall woman

her eyes are shifty

and she is holding a knife

but we have guns

and we are not afraid

            she has all these doors

                        that won't open

III

Zach Galifianakis

is debuting a new

flavor of Skittles

they are marbles

of blue and purple

there is a party but

no one has tried them

yet, they might be glass

IV

I am walking to the park

there is a vending

machine

selling rare chips

and beer

I am tied between

margarine and Armani

when I remember

I don't have any coins

and I go into the park

where some kids bully me

for not being good

at the monkey bars

 Nicole McKeon is forever a student. She currently lives on the top of a hill with her partner and dog. She can be found playing video games when she’s supposed to be writing poems. 

Laura Died Two Days Ago, I Lost You Years Ago

By Nicole Mckeon

Laura died two days ago

I lost you years ago.

Once the ribbons fell away

(they leapt from your hair like it was on fire)

you were on fire

burning bright

            burning fast

you left me for a boy

you left me for dark eyes

and wet, red lips

you grew out of me

            like a pair of jeans

but I'm still here

if you want to find me

Nicole McKeon is forever a student. She currently lives on the top of a hill with her partner and dog. She can be found playing video games when she’s supposed to be writing poems.