After “Stacking Cistern My Bones on Top of Your Bones on Top of Your Bones” by Gabrielle Calvocoressi and “Helen of Nowhere” by Makenna Goodman
This is a poem about what I do because it’s what I do that matters. Just because I think about throwing the flower pot off the balcony doesn’t make it appear at the tips of my fingers. Helen of Nowhere wouldn’t hang out with me. I was a saint being a saint thinking about being a thief. You know, doing lunges outside the club because I believe in balance. I was mindful at the Ikea, eating one pea at a time like the princess who might choke. Listening to opera with a crazy look on my face like I might do something crazy. I’m going out again, out in my circles. I’ll see you later, not there though, there was a shooting. At the Love’s. At the Hardee's. At the combination Love's Hardee's. It’s like a poem. Your toothbrush leaning against my toothbrush leaning against you leaning against my hand reaching down for the paste. My house leaning against the neighbor leaning against their house. I type into my phone, ‘reading at the lake.’ Learning to live until lived in. Here I am, golden hearted citizen. acting like I mean it, or maybe was Helen right. Maybe I'm just a fish floating at the top. Looking down, leaning against the fence leaning against me; talking to myself.
Adi Smith is a poet and writer from Minneapolis, MN. They have been locally distributing an original poetry zine called On Going since July, 2025. They wrote a one-act play called The Council Sees A Rabbit which debuted at the Phoenix Theater in uptown Minneapolis in 2026. In collaboration with composer Taylor Schultz of the Taylor Schultz Ensemble, they wrote a series of vocal pieces called Petal on a Pool which debuted in 2026 at Black Dots Records in Buffalo, NY. They attend Minneapolis College.