Sarah J. Sloat

No Stars Tonight

On the hot night

of a muggy day

I take a shower

with the door open.

Not to live dangerously
but because laissez-faire
helps me live. Mostly

I’d like to live less
like the drain in the sink,
and do my chewing
more quietly.

I drip the hall’s length
into the hour of sheep
and take my place
among inaudibles.

I like the lonely lick
of the sheets, where for
a moment the pain

behind my right eye
helps me forget
the pain in my knees.

When Wonderful, Add Water

The good thing about this blouse is it fits.
The good thing is beige goes with everything.
The good thing about this blouse is it makes me look thin.
The good thing is the buttons function.
This blouse can do winter and summer.
The good thing is the places this blouse has been.
Mainz. Starbucks. Up the down escalator.
The good thing about this blouse is its raspy laugh.
This blouse says forget age, forgo ironing.
I don't really give a shit what I wear with this blouse.
It does all the work.
The best thing about this blouse is it covers some very important parts of my body.


Bio: Sarah J. Sloat grew up in New Jersey, and now lives in Germany, where she works for a news agency. Sarah’s poems have appeared in Court Green, Juked, Bateau and Opium, among other publications. Her chapbook, In the Voice of a Minor Saint, was published this year by Tilt Press.