above/ground press: Genevieve Kaplan

Felines, which sounds like feelings
Genevieve Kaplan
$5

It suits me fine

waking sometimes in the night I felt
some fur beneath my toes
and considered: kitten 1 or kitten 2
to the right
of my right foot, I thought, a kitten. so
I pushed my big toe, my calf closer and

in a notebook I kept score,
some track of emotions, rankings
of delight or astonishment, numbers
to remind myself not to contort
my face and ask instead, what
is the wonder of others? sometimes
I can be quite ungenerous

I thought about falling asleep
again. the sheets would take me
and release, I would be alive
with consciousness and departed
from it. to the right of my foot,
I thought

published in Ottawa by above/ground press
September 2022
a/g subscribers receive a complimentary copy

Genevieve Kaplan is the author of (aviary) (Veliz Books, 2020); In the ice house (Red Hen Press, 2011); and four chapbooks, most recently I exit the hallway and turn right (above/ground, 2020), an anti-ode to office work. Her recent poems can be found in Oversound, Bennington Review, Ethel, and Puerto del Sol. A poet, scholar, and book-maker, Genevieve lives in southern California where she edits the Toad Press International chapbook series, publishing contemporary translations of poetry and prose. https://genevievekaplan.com/

This is Kaplan’s second chapbook with above/ground press, after I exit the hallway / and turn right (2020).

To order, send cheques (add $1 for postage; in US, add $2; outside North America, add $5) to: rob mclennan, 2423 Alta Vista Drive, Ottawa ON K1H 7M9. E-transfer or PayPal at rob_mclennan (at) hotmail.com or the PayPal button at www.robmclennan.blogspot.com

I exit the hallway
and turn right
Genevieve Kaplan
$5

I exit the
    hallway
    into the
    hallway
    and turn
    right.
The
    fluorescent
    lights are
    already on.
It’s lunchtime
    so all the
    doors are
    closed until I
    pass by
    an open
    room on
    my right.
The beginning
    of a blister
    forms on
    my heel.
The open door
    shows me
    a woman at
    a table on a
    phone.
I turn right.

published in Ottawa by above/ground press
December 2020
a/g subscribers receive a complimentary copy

Genevieve Kaplan is the author of (aviary) (Veliz Books, 2020); In the ice house (Red Hen Press, 2011), winner of the A Room of Her Own Foundation's poetry publication prize; and three chapbooks: In an aviary (Grey Book Press, 2016), travelogue (Dancing Girl, 2016), and settings for these scenes (Convulsive Editions, 2013). Her poems can be found in Third Coast, Spillway, Denver Quarterly, South Dakota Review, Poetry, and other journals. A poet, scholar, and book-maker, Genevieve lives in southern California. She edits the Toad Press International chapbook series, publishing contemporary translations of poetry and prose. https://genevievekaplan.com/

To order, send cheques (add $1 for postage; in US, add $2; outside North America, add $5) to: rob mclennan, 2423 Alta Vista Drive, Ottawa ON K1H 7M9. E-transfer or PayPal at rob_mclennan (at) hotmail.com or the PayPal button at www.robmclennan.blogspot.com