Brandi Homan
If I were Natalie Dee, I might not
have back fat. Then again, I might.
If I were Natalie Dee, I could think
about hot dogs, diet soda, and small
furry animals all day long.
And snakes.
I could draw pictures of myself
with fists full of tampons in the air.
If I were Natalie Dee, and she was me,
I would have a boyfriend, and smoke,
and my boyfriend and I would smoke
together. Hamburgers would have wings.
Cupcakes would have fangs.
If I were Natalie Dee, I would think
things like, “It is Bucket Day
everyday!” and “Cactus: Not much better
than no cactus.” I could have a penis
or go into space any time I wanted.
My boyfriend and I would play games
like “What’s In My Pants?” or “Don’t
Call Me Larry, Larry!” and one of my eyes
would squint more than the other.
Actually, it does.
Brandi Homanis editor-in-chief of Switchback Books. She has been published in or has poems forthcoming from Eleventh Muse, Salt Hill, CutBank, Fugue, North American Review, and Natural Bridge, among others. She earned her MA in English at the University of Illinois at Chicago and is working on her MFA in poetry at Columbia College. Currently, she is at work revising her first book-length manuscript,
The Valentine Factory. Her chapbook, Two Kinds of Arson, is
forthcoming from dancing girl press early next year.