words said by the woman in a beijing
elevator in her perfect american accent,
the sent text, skinny love on a loop, the smell
of camel turkish silvers, the name of the man
with the lies, the name of the man with the hard
hands, the name of the man with the bullets, the lie
that didn’t know it was a lie, the truth that became
an epithet, following behind like a dirty pant hem,
the look of white cement walls, the ring of a doorbell,
the words that should have been eaten, a shoe
print on teenaged blue walls, the unfinished
book, the untreated cavity, the taste
of vodka, the ringing doorbell, the name,
the name. even now.
even still.
 

Megan Waring is a poet, playwright and fiber artist who currently resides
in Boston. She holds a BA in Creative Writing from Virginia Tech and is
currently earning her MFA in poetry from University of Massachusetts
Boston. In between degrees, she worked in education and non-profits in
China and California. She is the honored recipient of Virginia Tech’s
Literary Award in 2010 and her work is forthcoming or published in *Nailed
Magazine,* Salamander, The Legendary, Pulp Literature, and Germ Magazine,
among others. Her second co-authored play, Archer and the Yeti, is being
produced by Greene Room Productions in October 2019.