TOOTHPICK LEGS
Jade Wootton
In my astroturf dreams
A baby lanternfly crawls on the picnic table
And I play hop scotch over the cracks in the sidewalk
My shins are bruised
But I’m still eating strawberry shortcake ice cream bars by the river
While the dogs howl at the pound across town
Back home I’m listening to the same song on repeat
Waiting for it to change my life
It won’t
But there will always be deviled eggs on Tuesdays
And the way you lift your head towards mine in the morning
JADE WOOTTON is a teacher and writer living in Ridgewood, NY. She received her master's degree in English & American Literature from NYU, where her research focused on theories of projected selfhood in contemporary autofiction, reality television, and social media. She runs Domino Reading Series in NYC, and her work appears in Electric Literature, Pan Pan Press, Forever Magazine, and elsewhere. You can find more of her writing on her Substack.