“The Meaning of Words Will Always Change” by Lora Robinson

The Meaning of Words Will Always Change
after Deborah Landau

Your emptiness / has a burning bush in it / and the voice of / a strange man always more trustworthy / than your mother’s or mine / your emptiness / has a pomegranate in it / a nuclear core/ leaching enriched beer / your emptiness / has a radio host in it / a financial podcast / debt-free screeching / the privileges of morality / your emptiness / has an espresso machine / a walnut knock box / an abridged version of my favorite novel / your emptiness / has an unpacked box / two, actually / maybe a third I can’t recall / half-full of batteries / and bondage rope you bought on lunch break //

Your emptiness / is a landscape photographer / a confirmation bias / has the Eucharist memorized / your emptiness / has half-an-acre / contractor gray / with four snowblowers / and a padlocked shed / full of dirt / your emptiness / has an Electra complex / and a white bull / in the image of your father / your emptiness / has rollover vacation days / puts the us in usefulness / and the utility in futility / your emptiness / is a self-portrait / as failed compost / is a city / that was always more mine / than yours / your emptiness / is not a kingdom / come now / your emptiness / honors no god / won’t teach you to swim / in the belly of the beast / your emptiness / can’t remember its dream either / your emptiness / has fallen asleep / don’t forget / to kiss it / good night //

Lora robinson

Lora Robinson is a queer poet and essayist from the East Coast. She is a poetry reader for Cobra Milk and The Avenue, an alumnus of Art Farm Nebraska and the May 2023 Inner Loop “Author's Corner” featured writer. She is also a writing mentor with the Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop. Their work has appeared or is forthcoming in Concision, The Meadow, MudRoom, The West Review, Hooligan, and Pine Hills Review, among others. Her debut collection, An Essential Melancholy, is available now through akinoga press. Connect with them on Instagram @theblondeprive.

Headshot: Lora Robinson

Photo Credit: Staff