Josette Torres- Two Poems

Josette Torres received her MFA in Creative Writing from Virginia Tech. She also holds a BA in English and Creative Writing from Purdue University. Her work has previously appeared in escarp, The New Verse News, Fiction on the Web, and elsewhere. She is currently a doctoral student in cultural thought in Virginia Tech's ASPECT Program.

The Argument Against Upward Mobility

My day-to-day fits
in handfuls of city
blocks. Would
that you live such
an uncomplicated
existence. I wear
the same clothes
week to week, keep
grocery lists simple,
carry shopping home
in two canvas tote
bags I live simply, but
with complications—
your complication.
Your complications
keep me from straying
off undisclosed paths
I glide. Back and forth
between us binds me
tight. I feel comfortable
with never wishing
for more than what
I have. Less to lose.

Tinfoil Boats

If I were a photographer,
I would make dozens of tin
foil boats, find the nearest
body of water, and re-enact
naval battles, taking pictures
from every angle possible.
I would write a short story
about the Great Tinfoil Boat
Battle of the Wabash:
bravery of the small green
army men bought at Walgreens
for 88 cents, destruction
caused by my disposable
lighter as I set boats on fire. 
I would spend night after night
in the darkroom, wrangling
images just so, pinching
prints onto thin rope,
then gathering them all
into my arms for the trip
to the nearest art gallery,
where I would release them
to the public wild like birds.