gasoline smell in the simulation
when we’re out of juice
I feel like I’m dying
my engine light is on
my spouse takes it in
Reese Witherspoon
says something
about the mental load
being lighter that way
I have to believe
there’s nothing wrong
with saying congrats
on a new car
but the kids can’t have
their smoothies
without the juice now
I’m saying congrats
to the oil man
on record profits
etiquette activated
to fill my lungs
soon there will exist
no record of me
Samantha Duncan is the author of four poetry chapbooks, including Playing One on TV (Hyacinth Girl Press, 2018) and The Birth Creatures (Agape Editions, 2016), and her work has appeared in BOAAT, SWWIM, Kissing Dynamite, Meridian, and The Pinch. She lives in Houston.
