Lady Flincher and the Mangoes

by Lenny DellaRocca

“Grey Scales” by Amy Harrison

We walked past her place late one night. She slept

nude in a hammock

on her lanai

on the second floor.

The condo police

would make her

get rid of the cat

if they knew about it.

This morning she

walked past us

on the lawn.

I smiled

but it was like

we weren’t there.

She bent down and

put mangoes in her

pockets, moved toward

the canal. The geese were screaming. This woman

almost fell over,

and I was about

to lurch toward

her but she righted

herself like

a mechanical

toy. We named her

after a TV character.

A mean one.

Let’s go inside

I said, and Marie

took my hand.

Before going

I watched the woman

stagger toward the canal

with those mangoes.

I wondered. I wondered if she was going to do it.

Lenny DellaRocca is founding editor and former publisher of South Florida Poetry Journal-SoFloPoJo.  He’s the author of five poetry collections. His work has appeared in One, Slipstream, Nimrod, Seattle Rev., Laurel Rev., Fairy Tale Rev, and others. He was interviewed by Grace Cavalieri for The Poet and The Poem on NPR and has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net. He has invented the Epoem, a new form on display at his new poetry journal, Witchery, which is embedded online at South Florida Poetry Journal.

Amy Harrison (she/her) is a creative soul who teaches high school English by day and writes poetry at night. Her work is fueled by anxiety, grief, wonder, passion, and coffee. She can be found on the weekends exploring a local brewery and taking Polaroids of the desert scape with her vintage Impulse Polaroid camera. Amy lives in Arizona with her husband, dog, cat, and over 400 vinyl records. Discover more of her snark and sass on Insta or Twitter @poetry_and_polaroids. Discover more of her poetry and Polaroids in Musing Publications, Poetry as Promised, Elpis Letters, and Verum Literary Press.