Crown

1.Last week it was Saturdaywhen I showed you I loved you at the top of the housebecause on Saturday you love me and come to my office doorand look at me until I take off my headphonesand move onto you. But more playfulthan that and more real.2.In this photograph, I am a girl child.My thoughts come out in my handsand my hair. If only I could realize it.Be just the person I just am.3.In last night’s dream, the car glides awaywithout my friend, and I end upon the highway. I’m on a motel balcony then,in a part of town I don’t know about.There’s a view of a new lake.Perfectly round and red, on top of a new mountain.4.Today I’m only walking up and down the stairs with coffee cupsand pulling at my crown. The petals of itstand up and get brighter when I do this.____Joanna Penn Cooper is the author of The Itinerant Girl's Guide to Self-Hypnosis (Brooklyn Arts Press), as well as the chapbooks Mesmer (dancing girl press) and Crown (forthcoming from Ravenna Press). Her creative work has appeared in a number of journals, including South Dakota Review, Poetry International, Supermachine, and Boog City. Joanna holds a Ph.D. in American literature from Temple University, and she has held full-time visiting positions at Marquette University and Fordham University.  She lives in Brooklyn and can be found at joannapenncooper.blogspot.com.