Willa Carroll
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Chorus of Triggers
Firing a gun is no accident / She remembers his mouth / can taste it / distant peppermint // Accidental fire / blast force / Radio body tally // Droning car radio / he shuts it off / kisses her hard / No accident they end up in the backseat // She names the kisses / wet pocket / bobbing apple / firecracker // Metal barrel in mouth / lips wet as a kiss / Or accidental misfire during gun maintenance // Fractures in the chorus / show of forces / Drone / drone
Contaminated Document
You want a hunk of my flank? You’ll swallow yellow #5, tinder, maxed-out credit cards, wet-cut hay, gunpowder, old stamps. The mind
is built on wind, the more important you feel,
the worse the storm. I wear my name like a tag
on borrowed air. I won't administer as your night-nurse, not even in your inoculation dream. All the warm human milk
in this world won’t balm your need.
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Willa Carroll has published in Tin House, Narrative, 5 AM, Free State Review, Ilanot Review, Mary Magazine, Structo, The Equalizer, Tuesday; An Art Project, and Stone Canoe. She was the winner of Narrative’s Third Annual Poetry Contest, a semi-finalist for the "Discovery" / Boston Review Poetry Contest, and a nominee for a Pushcart Prize. Carroll received her MFA from Bennington where she was awarded the Liam Rector Scholarship. She has collaborated with other artists on numerous multimedia projects and performances. Video readings of her poems are in Narrative Outloud. She lives in New York City.