BY MIA SARA
DISPATCHES FROM THE CORNER OF HOLLYWOOD AND MOTHERHOOD
Self-Portrait with Hollywood Kid
Unquenchable
his poppies,
scorched, staggered by the foothills
of late term adolescence, parched
by the desiccating dream glare.
No wonder the addiction
to shadows. My stolen child, choking
on Nirvana
I’m not gonna crack I’m not gonna crack
I’m not gonna crack
We had better bridges
in Brooklyn, choicer constructs
for getting high
and rivers deep enough
to mock oblivion.
Self-destruction is thirsty work,
harder to pull off in a desert.
My brackish youth I spat out,
a tribute to the bottom of the Hudson.
His cup is still half full
but he will not drink.
He’ll have to learn to swallow
his rage on a dry throat.
Mia Sara used to be an actress, but recovered her senses and now she writes. Her work has been published in Superstition Review, Helix, poemmemoirstory, The Summerset Review, PANK, the Write Room, among many others. Her chapbook, Mid-Life With Gorilla was published by Dusie Press, and she had a long running column “Wrought and Found” for PANK Magazine. She lives between New York City and Los Angeles with her husband, Brian Henson, and her children. Read more from Mia at her website.