Two Poems by Josette Torres

Nothing Changes, Not Ever

after Mark Eitzel's "Mission Rock Resort"

Light rain is my curtain, my barrier
against the crowd. Order another drink

for appearance's sake. I watch grown men hug
and sigh out hope. Two months ago I did

the same damn thing—and a month before that
and six weeks before that—and the circle

never closes. Rocks spin up and down hills
in mundane symphonies. I lay my palms

flat on the table and feel this future
rushing underneath, flashing past me, not

mine to accept. Order another drink
for appearance's sake. I could have said

words to affect change but didn't, and look
what's happening now. End of the season,

story lines wrapping up in neat little
bows. One minute you're in arms reach and then

you're week-old newspaper falling apart
in the street, headlines and trash together

at long last. Light rain is my curtain,
my barrier against the crowd. Order

another drink for appearance's sake.

I Continue to Refuse the Role I am Given

after Low’s “In the Drugs”

I am tasked with telling a story,
hiding a story, breathing a story
for which I am not the intended
recipient. I did not choose—story
sought me out, called me up, whispered
as I went about my business.
Never tell me that I self-selected.
It is a lie. Narratives shifting
to match me are never coincidental.
I stayed alive while all else died.
An angel and a demon sit with me.
The angel forgives with her eyelashes.
The demon never speaks.

Josette Torres received her MFA in Creative Writing from Virginia Tech in 2010. She also holds a BA in English and Creative Writing from Purdue University. Her work has appeared in The New Verse News, SLAM: Silhouette Literary and Arts Magazine, Emerge Literary Journal, and 16 Blocks and is forthcoming in Ayris. She is the Writer in Residence at The Lyric Theatre in Blacksburg, Virginia.