Four Micropoems by Andrea Lambert

Why I Don’t Go Outside

I’ve been told my range is the tragic

And I only write about myself.

Well, here are some current events:

Two doors down from where I live

A 14 year kid old shot an adult, aged 35.

Six times and killed him.

With the help of a 19 year old.

I stack the numbers like Legos or lipsticks or cuts on my legs.

2 – 14 – 35 – 6 – 19

I could play the lotto with this.

Inevitable

Sin and redemption narrative
Is a bitch.

Waterproof Mascara

When I put on my face in the morning,

There is always a choice

Between waterproof and regular mascara

The waterproof I have had for months,

It is Maybelline,

Running dry.

The regular is MAC,

Fresh from a Christmas gift box.

It goes on black and long, perfect lines.

It runs when I cry.

These days, I pick the waterproof every time.

Prison Tattoos

Manicured fingers meeting

Prison tattoos

Delicate fingers meeting

Prison tattoos

As they strolled down the hallway of the

Detox center

Talking up going to

Venice beach

Buying rings covered with

Skulls and bones

Drinking beer and doing

Shots of jack

And I watched them from the

Door of my room

And they were

Released on Thursday

And never

Spoke again.

Andrea Lambert is the author of Jet Set Desolate, Lorazepam & the Valley of Skin and the chapbook G(u)ilt. Her work has appeared in 3:AM Magazine, The Fanzine, Entropy, HTMLGiant, Queer Mental Health, and ENCLAVE. Her work has been anthologized in Haunting Muses, Writing the Walls Down: A Convergence of LGBTQ Voices,The L.A. Telephone Book Vol. 1, 2011-2012, Off the Rocks Volume #16: An Anthology of GLBT Writing, You’ve Probably Read This Before, and Chronometry. Visual artist. CalArts MFA. Find her online at andreaklambert.com.