28 March 2008 | Vol. 8, No. 1
Or Not
We could get married. Have children. Be happy. Or decide
not to have children. I could marry your best friend.
I wield a potent vocabulary. You're pulchritudinous. I napped
through English class. You know. Like. Um. Ah. You're hot.
Do you remember what I said, that night in the car?
You don't? Me neither. But at the time, it was true.
You loved how, tuxedoed and boutonniered, he squeakily asked
you to dance. But he might've just nodded. At somebody else.
She told me things about you that I already knew. I pretended
I didn't and gave her away. It was easy. Or not.
Well, you know I would never try to stop you. Just go ahead.
You're probably better off doing that, anyway. Wait.
About the authors:
Jessy Randall's book of poems, A Day in Boyland, is now available from Ghost Road Press. Her website is personalwebs.coloradocollege.edu/~jrandall. She lives in Colorado Springs with her family. She and Daniel M. Shapiro have been collaborating since sixth grade.
Daniel M. Shapiro is a math tutor and graduate student who lives in Pittsburgh. His chapbook, Teeth Underneath, is available from Foothills Publishing. His most recent artwork can be found in the zine The Huge Underpants of Gloom. He and Jessy Randall have been collaborating since sixth grade.
For further reading:
Browse the contents of 42opus Vol. 8, No. 1, where "Or Not" ran on March 28, 2008. List other work with these same labels: poetry, collaboration.
