National Poetry Month : Misha Solomon,

 

PUR 11-Cup Ultimate Water Filtration Pitcher

 

history is alive in that
elizabeth i changed her face
from pink to white
with vinegar and lead,
which maimed the minds
of millions of toddlers and
is still the word for thin
sticks of writing graphite

i haven’t used pencils in years,
thought i was done with lead
until the city warned me
my intake valve might still
be made of it until 2030 

history is alive in that
i’ve been drinking raw lead
and boiled lead infused with chamomile 

history is echoing through my kidneys
and nervous system and even
vas deferens when i lay pipe
because of pipes laid centuries
ago and not unlaid until 2030 

the future is alive in that
a highly advanced water pitcher
in my fridge filters out the lead
thanks to some cylinder
filled with magic sand
and when i drink the deleaded water
when i let the refrigerated liquid
slip between my teeth
pass over my fleshy tongue
glug its way down my muscled throat
when i wait the hour it takes
for this water to become
eminently potable
i feel nothing like
a monarch

 

 

Misha Solomon (he/him) is a queer poet in and of Tiohti:áke/Montréal. His first chapbook, FLORALS, was published by above/ground press in 2020. His work is forthcoming in yolk. He publishes one gay little poem each week through his Substack: somegaypoems.substack.com.