Status Updates From The Best American Poetry 20...

“Vivisection” by Marty McConnell
I will take in my hands and press against my face
until we are a single organism. the mouth is not an organ but I give it to you.

When I say eat me I mean
suck the bones clean, leave nothing

“Rape Joke” by Patricia Lockwood

The rape joke is that you were 19 years old.
The rape joke is that he was your boyfriend.
The rape joke it wore a goatee. A goatee.
Imagine the rape joke looking in the mirror, perfectly reflecting back itself, and grooming itself to look more like a rape joke. "Ahhhh," it thinks. "Yes. A goatee."
No offense.
The rape joke is that

“Ok Cupid” by Major Jackson.

Dating a Catholic is like dating a tribe and dating a tribe is like dating a nation and dating a nation is like dating a football star
and dating a football star is like dating a new car and dating a new car is like dating an air freshener
and dating an air freshener is like dating a fake tree
and dating a fake tree is like dating silver tinsel and dating silver tinsel is like

What we end up making, whether it’s something we do by ourselves or with others, is always a form of conversation