Frames by Kristine Esser Slentz

You add lavender to Your bedding

I lie on edge looking at You unfold

You notice My thick plastic glasses

You ask how poor is My vision – I say bad – I take off the

spectacles offering them to You

You shake Your head no – You don’t want to get a headache

looking through My lenses

I place the frame back on My face

I get up from Your plush mattress

I finish pulling on the fitted sheet

KRISTINE ESSER SLENTZ is a queer, experimental poet from northwest Indiana and the Chicagoland area. She is a Purdue University alum who double-majored in English literature and creative writing. After earning her undergraduate degree, she worked in the digital marketing field for seven years to marry her experience in both writing and advertising. Currently, KRISTINE is earning her MFA in creative writing (poetry) and is an adjunct professor at City College of New York (CCNY). She is an Assistant Editor for the online poetry publication and press Unfold Magazine and Folded Word. She also does outreach for the poet’s community The Speakeasy Project and a co-organizer in CCNY’s MFA reading series. Some places her poetry has appeared in or is forthcoming include Yes Poetry, Moonchild Magazine, The Shallow Ends, Glass Poetry, Barren Magazine, Crab Fat Magazine, Philosophical Idiot, and Flying Island Journal where she was nominated for a 2017 Pushcart Prize. KRISTINE has also been interviewed by Persephone’s Daughters and Luna Luna Magazine. KRISTINE primarily writes about queerness, feminine sexuality, sexual abuse, and religious oppression.