On the weekends, Kristine Brown frequently wanders through historic neighborhoods, saying ‘Hello’ to most any cat she encounters. Some of these cats are found on her blog, Crumpled Paper Cranes (https://crumpledpapercranes.com). Her creative work can be found in Hobart, Sea Foam Mag, Philosophical Idiot, among others, and a collection of flash prose and poetry, Scraped Knees, was released in 2017 by Ugly Sapling.
Catching Grasshoppers
climbing trees
of a sleeping yesteryear.
this,
my favorite hobby.
catching grasshoppers
as they fought
from opposite sides.
a tennis court
with boundaries
set by chalk,
soft and washable.
like shirts you can say
I stole,
but no others I own
could pedal in tandem
with my only black cardigan
undoubtedly well.
I’ve never seen a dragonfly,
and snow is like pork
to babies of vegan love.
but its sole presence,
a decade not exactly halved.
I’m in doubt
of its capacity
to surpass the travels
of an earnest breath.
On Being Polite
verifiable addresses
and envelopes returned.
some days, you don’t know
exactly who to believe,
to whom you reveal
your most embarrassing moments.
taking a bite of mudpie,
thinking it’s chocolate mousse.
sums up my love life,
and his, and hers,
and theirs,
as they quarrel in plastic seats.
he took her out for crab legs,
but crustaceans make her bleed.
see, now that’s a problem.
but if she were to ask,
“Are we bothering you?”
and you vigorously shook
your scarlet chin, side to side.
you lied.
but the winces of those around,
these are simply tips
properly vetted.
they don’t unveil a scandal,
but dab with a tough cotton swab.
everyone cowers.
banana peels bruised.
Supervised Grocery Shopping
a proper meal
to satiate.
and words of a fullness
we taste in custard.
it’s enough to say “yes”
to unvested kayaking.
rapids, and rocks
to monopolize foam.
with each purchase,
a reluctant revisit.
as tangerines drop
from an overwhelmed bag.