Loaded

1.

You pop in unannounced on a Tuesday and she offers you
braised tofu with fermented kimchi made from scratch
in her own kitchen with the Wolf range.
An inner circle helped, her BFFs.
You find out they’re all
paid.

2.

Burning Man is so done. Not for this Burning Man
banker who’s 50. He’s just remodeled a tan 1979 RV
for the trip. On the Playa he traded small-batch
boutique bourbon for friendship bracelets
he wore back at the office to impress his
employees.

3.

The guy I asked to babysit is shy and looks 15;
turns out he’s 29. He owns properties all over town,
still lives with friends in an untidy
Victorian. The house and everything
in it is communal, until he decides to
sell.

4.

The country club mom has ombré hair extensions,
breast implants, and a diamond
in her eyebrow. She advertises
herself as a Paleocene nutritionist/
spiritual guide. If only
with juiced beets
we could achieve
enlightenment.

 

Source and Method: Remixed from San Francisco Chronicle Sunday “Style” section, August 2016.

Cathryn Shea’s poetry has recently appeared in Cheat River Review, Permafrost, Rust + Moth, Tinderbox, and elsewhere. Cathryn’s second chapbook, “It’s Raining Lullabies,” is forthcoming from dancing girl press in 2017. Cathryn serves on the editorial staff for Marin Poetry Center Anthology. See her website at cathrynshea.com and @cathy_shea on Twitter.