"Five Ways to Break a Habit" by Ellery Beck

The garlic scent in my passenger

seat is getting stronger. I’ll throw away the leftovers

and see what replaces it first. I thought

the most common color

for a flower would be white. I looked,

white is second. The elevator

smelled beautiful (and repulsive). Cigarettes

and coffee. I went to the third floor and told

someone it smelled like you. When I left I noticed

a difference on my keyring but it’s only the panic

button placement. If you hit the fourth button

the trunk still pops. As long as the edges look

the same you can open and replace

the inside. I’ve remade myself for the fifth

time and the outside is unchanging.

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Ellery Beck is a sophomore undergraduate student majoring in English. She’s currently studying at Salisbury University. She was one of the winners of the 2019 AWP Portland Review flash contest. Her poems are published or forthcoming in Potomac Review, Arkana, Little Patuxent Review, Thin Air Magazine,The Broadkill Review, Prairie Margins and The Susquehanna Review. She is the Interview Editor for The Shore Poetry.