THE HIGH PRIESTESS
i am a diamond thief waiting for the end of the world
what will i love when there is just dust?
a door opens to an empty house, forgotten
family photos w/ smiling teeth & in
that house, the stairway leads to a bedroom
& the house has grown into a stranger
& i might just caress the jewelry meant for a neck
or a wrist, a glimmering asteroid lost in my pocket.
THE EMPEROR
i’m forever:
shelling quarters
under my tongue
never early, but
never quite on time.
THE LOVERS
Q. what if the world ends?
A. we’ll still keep our tattoos & branch crowns — magic,
at short notice. but baby, we’ll need our parlor tricks.
Q. do you believe in ghosts?
A. i talked to a spirit once — a voice full of mother.
got me the hell out.
Stephanie Valente lives in Brooklyn, NY. She is a Young Adult novelist, short fiction writer, poet, editor, content & social media strategist. In short, she wears many hats. Especially if they have feathers. She is the Fashion Editor at Greenpointers, Associate Editor at Yes, Poetry, and Style Blogger at Kitschy. Some of her writing has appeared in Bust Magazine, Electric Cereal, Prick of the Spindle, The 22 Magazine, Danse Macabre, Uphook Press, Literary Orphans, Nano Fiction, and more.