Reader,

I have of late
come into a dictatorship

The country is perhaps
only eight by ten

but rich with building materials
strange birds

and kinds of weather

I have found myself
to possess a natural talent

for the work

—

The agricultural industrial complex turns
to me at the karaoke bar, says

The man loved making commitments

I picture a heart
overflowing

with tight scrolls
appointments scribbled

on each one

Dammit
Somebody already did “Jolene”

light pencil, fine hand

—

Megan Levad is the author of What Have I to Say to You and Why We Live in the Dark Ages. Her poems have appeared in Tin House, Granta Online, and the fashion magazine AnOther, among other publications. Megan also writes song lyrics and libretti; her first opera, Kept, premiered in May 2017. She lives in California.