POETRY WEEK 2024
Second-place winner
BY JENNIFER HANDY
Copyright is held by the author.
the poet, phoenix-like, has died
and been reborn,
holding not a quill but an iPhone camera
to create the newest meme
Part 1: Polar Bears
white on white upon the snow
except those places
on the paws
which dirt and time have turned to yellow
but one day in the spring
the snow as well
will turn brown, muddy,
as another year melts away
and new cubs arrive with fur
the whitest white and innocent
in the depths of winter
in the icy waters
standing on glaciers
do they dream about the warm flesh of fresh-caught salmon
or do they dream of ice-cold Coca-Cola
Part 2: Arctic Fox
not white, but silver-tipped
dressed as though for some occasion
La Bohème in Paris
or maybe New York City
drinks after at the Ritz
in reality, a scavenger
feasting on day-old entrails
until her mouth and paws
drip blood
though when she walks away,
like a prima donna
she sashays
Part 3: Photoshop
put coloured scarves around the bears
whose fur already keeps them warm
and give them thought bubbles
filled with pictures instead of words
one with salmon, question mark
another with a green glass bottle, exclamation point
put Broadway signs and neon lights
in the background
and a pill-box hat upon the fox
maybe add a string of pearls
add music to their antics
delete all other sound
***
Jennifer Handy’s poetry has been published in Nathaniel Hawthorne Review, and is forthcoming in Chalkdust, Loud Coffee Press, LastStanza Poetry Journal, and The Wallace Stevens Journal.
