Orchestras I love because you’re not
allowed to know exactly who
wants in. Musicians must audition
behind a screen. When women
are given away by noise of heels,
the judges spend the whole day
laying carpet. The carpet, though,
is thick and makes it hard
to walk in heels while wheeling
behind a cello, so then the women
are given away by falls.

I sold your seat to put myself away.
The art nurse has me spending
an hour a day tracing an old cartoon
of Uncle Sam. He looks in the mirror
to find a king’s reflection
staring back. I’ve told the truth
so far, except HE ISN’T REALLY MY
UNCLE—— THEY NEVER ARE

*

Natalie Shapero is the author of No Object (Saturnalia, 2013). She writes and teaches at Kenyon College, where she is a Kenyon Review Fellow.