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Betsy Mars

In My Dream I Enter the Bistro

​& flawless French pours out of my mouth
as I greet the maître d’ who leads us to our seats,
table laden with platters of “delicacies.”
 
The staff watch proudly as I eye the nature morte
tableau upon the table. I know I must try my best
to eat, to take it all in – this nauseating feast.
 
I turn the plate before me, examining the fare: a tentacle –
one end open like a tube, suction cups along its grey length,
a fishlike head on the other end with gaping mouth
 
and staring eyes.  I spin the dish, wondering
where I am expected to begin. Finally resigned,
I lift fork and knife, approach the head
 
which begins to thrash, crying out
through its big open mouth,
Je suis triste! Je suis triste!*
 
I throw back my chair and run
out the door, ashamed
that I can’t rescue or console,
or even eat what is offered.
There will be many more served.
 
*I am sad

Biography

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Betsy Mars is a poet, photographer, and occasional publisher. She founded Kingly Street Press and released her first anthology, Unsheathed: 24 Contemporary Poets Take Up the Knife, in October 2019. Her work has recently appeared in Verse Virtual, San Pedro River Review, Sheila-Na-Gig, and Better Than Starbucks. Her chapbook, Alinea, was published in January 2019 by Picture Show Press. In the Muddle of the Night, with Alan Walowitz, is coming soon from Arroyo Seco Press. In 2020, she was a winner in Alexandria Quarterly’s first line poetry contest series.
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ISSN 2639-426X
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  • Home
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  • Issues
    • Issue 49
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    • Issue 46
    • Issue 45
    • Issue 44
    • Issue 43
    • Issue 42
    • Issue 41
    • Issue 40
    • Issue 39
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    • Issue 37
    • Issue 36
    • Issue 35
    • Issue 34
    • Issue 33
    • Issue 32
    • Issue 31
    • Issue 30
    • Issue 29
    • Issue 28
    • Issue 27
    • Issue 26
    • Issue 25
    • Issue 24
    • Issue 23
    • Issue 22
    • Issue 21
    • Issue 20
    • Issue 19
    • Issue 18
    • Serenity
    • Issue 17
    • The Audio Room
    • Issue 16
    • Issue 15
    • Issue 14
    • Play It Again
    • Issue 13
    • Issue 12
    • Issue 11
    • Issue 10
    • Issue 9
    • Issue 8
    • Issue 7
    • Issue 6
    • Hand to Mouth
    • Issue 5
    • Issue 4
    • Issue 3
    • Issue 2
    • Issue 1
  • Submissions