Three Poems by Kate Carmody

Heady Lesson #1

Take a head off

keep the words inside

put it in a briefcase—the big one with all the important files—brain and

veins still dripping blood

A head can be a messy thing

but it’s okay,

as long as I don’t have to clean it

Heady Lesson #2

I’m foaming at the mouth hide behind a metaphor hide behind research search for usual suspects line them up repetition the plot thickens shampoo effect rinse and you know what’s next lip service causes gum disease tight lips mad libs fail to call 9-1-1 cover my face with poetry

It’s my party and I’ll cry if I want to

Never ask for forgiveness

azz backwards

back that azz up

bounce a quarter off that ass

you left it in Omaha with Ben Sasse

where’s the beef

willing suspension of disbelief

all you need is some suspenders

a barrel is a cartoon character’s little black dress

shootin off like crackers in a barrel

taste the biscuit

eat my shorts

You’s a hobart

Kate Carmody's work has been published or is forthcoming in Electric Literature, Porter House Review, The Rumpus, Potomac Review, Essay Daily, No Contact, Los Angeles Review, and Lunch Ticket, among others. She has been awarded a residency at Ragdale and attended the Kenyon Review Writers Workshop. She received her MFA from Antioch University in Los Angeles and teaches writing courses nationally.