Animals: “my neopets die and i somehow go on” by Paolo Bicchieri

my neopets die and i somehow go on

filling Lowe's bins with soil and zucchini and no blooming brings my painted poogle back from the pound and i go on wishing i could do third grade again and how using the computer was better when i didn't rely on the thing for money and are you sure it gets better than the joy of logging on after mom hung up the phone or shooting roman candles at morgan middle school on a heat heavy summer night or than floating at samon la sac like apples bobbing, cousins tight like double buckling, or do you mean to say the last time a bundle of salmon squirming through the water with us, their bodies ribbed with metal and mercury, was a portent of things to come?

About Paolo Bicchieri

Paolo Bicchieri (he/they) is a writer living on the coast. His work has been featured in Ghost City Press, Nomadic Press, Street Sheet, and more. His first book of poetry "Familial Animals" was released in 2021.