I hate to ruin your childhood,
but slice and bake cookies aren’t any good.
The oil coats your tongue, forms a seal
that only the taste of sugar and preservatives can penetrate.
I’ll get back to you on Hamburger Helper
when I remember how to shop for more than one thing.
All of my apertures are open.
On the best days they let in too much light,
on the worst the background blurs.
I thought slice and bake cookies
would resolve this.
You wonder why I’d do this now
when all I have at home are Whole Foods bags
filled with pictures of the dead
and imaginary places
like girl scout camp and San Francisco.
I’ll tell you.
One night when you were gone
I took my mother’s coral necklace
wrapped it tight around my throat
and tried to breathe.