“My Cat Is a Stress Guru” by Lannie Stabile

Outside, stress grows fat and noisy in
my stomach. A moment’s distraction, 

I watch my cat gnaw on rangy blades of
crabgrass. Experts say animals do this to

aid in digestion. Soon, she hacks violently,
her long body spasming like a tube of 

shaky toothpaste. In a moment, she
unrolls her rough tongue to reveal a green

fibrous glob, courtesy of the enzymes
that refuse to build within her. The cat 

resumes her al fresco supper. I too wish
I could settle my nerves with teeth.

—

Lannie Stabile (she/her), a queer Detroiter, often says while some write like a turtleneck sweater, she writes like a Hawaiian shirt. A finalist for the 2019/2020 Glass Chapbook Series and semifinalist for the Button Poetry 2018 Chapbook Contest, she is usually working on new chapbook ideas, or, when desperate, on her neglected YA novel. Works can be found, or are forthcoming, in Glass Poetry, 8 Poems, Kissing Dynamite, Monstering, Okay Donkey, Honey & Lime, and more. Lannie currently holds the position of Managing Editor at Barren Magazine and is a member of the MMPR Collective. She was also recently nominated for Best of the Net 2019.

Twitter: @LannieStabile