In My Imagination
–A Golden Shovel from Sandra Alcosser’s SWEAT:
Men with nibblers and tin snips buffing skins,
sanding curves under clamp lights.
In this dark elevator, the smell of sweaty men
poisons stale air as I hold my breath with
seconds left before I blow it. They are nibblers,
their eyes taking me in. Closing in and
claustrophobic, I imagine them rusty tin-
men in orange jumpsuits. The tall one snips
another’s French fry and I am buffing
the stainless door with my eyes, tattooed skin
shed in depths uncertain. The bell rings and I am sanding
the fourth floor with my feet. Muscleman curves
his lips into a grin and I am under-
neath him slapping thighs. I clamp
my legs around his waist haloed by the lights.
Laurie Kolp’s poems have appeared in the Southern Poetry Anthology VIII: Texas, Stirring, Whale Road Review, Rust + Moth, and more. Her poetry books include Upon the Blue Couch and Hello, It’s Your Mother. An avid runner and lover of nature, Laurie lives in Southeast Texas with her husband, three children, and two dogs.
