prep_re_ness

by Lindsay D'Andrea

prep_re_ness

_ _ the game is to draw one

or the other to the end in pieces

until someone made whole

can swing _ _ we argue how to prolong

our fate _ adding hands and feet _

lank hair _ sagging gut _ a frown

or round O for a mouth _ _

i make poor decisions

spelled out in two letters or three _

answers simple as will or won’t _

moody silences in between _ _

will you feed the dog _ _ will you

iron this shirt _ _ will you take some

part of me with you when you leave _

_ you do not know you will

someday leave _ but i am ready _

sealing nonperishables into walls _

learning how to rig up

the generator _ remember your voice _

all those ways you could tell me

_ yes _ without saying the word

without even a sound _ all that yes

filling the blank spaces

until i have no more room _ until

i have to say _ no _ please

stop _ and i find myself giving away

everything i saved _ _ look outside

_ the games are over _ _ fires burn

between broken glass _ abandoned

cars roll over upon cracked highways _

_ the air may not be breathable _

cannibals have ripped apart our neighbors _

but it’s warm inside the bunker

i made for us _ _ i draw neat gallows above

seven short blanks _ pretend you don’t

already know what I’m thinking _ _

Lindsay D'Andrea

Lindsay D’Andrea is an emerging writer at work on her first collection of poems. Recently, her poems have been selected for publication in On the Seawall, Sho Poetry Journal, Ploughshares, and the North American Review, among others. She currently lives in the Philadelphia area with her family.

Find her on Bluesky or Instagram @lindszd!

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