notnostrums

Amanda Nadelberg

Amanda Nadelberg

This Is When I Tell You Like It Is (Part Deux)

Last night I had a bad dream and 
you were like always. In and out 

of the house there were back packs 
packed. I’ll stay here. It’s my dream. 

A bird’s nest our home. You could 
be a narrative. We could 

keep talking. There are delicacies in 
history. Ways of speaking. Terms 

of phrase. The sounds of pants. 
Do you trust me. Because I 

stutter and I care a whole lot. 
When we watch movies we are 

looking for trouble. We are looking 
to be told we know better than that.

The Cry of the Iceberg in Me

I say what I see. 
It’s just that simple. 
It is night out and
beautiful. O heart,
seriously, I 
miss you like horses.
What I learned is
consequences. The
same people, the same
people every place
cock their heads for 
everything possible
to come over. Sometimes
people say “I like your 
boots” because they don’t
know what else to say. 
Peg and Satan were
shipping things, trying
to do right by people. 
Boxes are things to 
hug without responsibility.
Like a road in Concord
turns because you know
it will, I know what 
all this means because
I’m telling you about it.
Dear Americans, 
You run better 
than French people fish.
Seriously. Like horses. 

People with Muddy Feet Were Dancing on this Table

I am your friend. I go deeper into the forest. 
I put a belt on. I make out with bandits to see if you care. 
This is what it’s like in heaven. The animals cutting our hair.
When they dance it looks like they just want to feel something. 
The happy happy bird!
We are human kites and we eat breakfast. 
Can you fire the wind? 
No. You cannot. You are just a person in California.
In the forest birds stop. They become broccoli. I can convince myself of anything.
And the wind ruined your face. 
Everyone was disappointed and I was toothpaste. 
Dear me. This is what fireworks look like. 
A thing to complicate stars. 
You love like a slow train coming to a stop. 
A bird walks into a bar and lies down in the grass. 
If I touch the bird and it is afraid.
If I touch the bird and it is afraid of everything. 

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