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Rosalynn Blaisdell
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Traveling with Friends
Seattle is a dog whining in the backseat
of a car. He soothes you in some absinthe
bar while you wrap scarves around your head.
Despite the cold, you drop his hand in
the crowded streets. No one notices. New
York lies about who his mother is, claims
some famous ex-girlfriend will be Broadway-
bound come his next drink. You avoid each other
all night to listen to the city slur Pul-
it-zerrrrr into a mixed cocktail called Austin,
which tastes like vintage cloth and mothballs.
In the middle of the night, you’ll remember
his mother’s unreturned coats in your room.
In your dreams, you’re sentenced to hang in them.
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Rosalynn Blaisdell (she/they) is a second-year MFA Poetry candidate at San Diego State University, where she also teaches Rhetoric and Writing Studies. They are a recipient of the 2024 Prebys Foundation Fellowship and have been published by Fifth Wheel Press. Their work is forthcoming in Cherry Tree Review and Los Angeles Review.