CLEO MUELLER

IN MEMORY OF THE ONE GIRL BAND

Pluck out her hair—
for the bow remember
how she played, like sipping
heavy cream in the kitchen,
the animals outside
starving. Make sure
to pull it tight, paint
her toenails with a color
of indulgence: green.
Remember, she read
books about young love
on the porch. Let the trucks
rev themselves at the bulbs
she planted, watched
them spread their glossy yellow
thighs. When you set it to strings
hear her voice: billy
goat bleating, banshee,
Shania Twain. She wanted
to be buried mid-day—
she wanted her body
bejeweled.

Cleo Mueller recently graduated from St. Lawrence University in Canton, NY. Her poetry appears in Hinchas de Poesia, Lumina, and Illuminations.