Brittany Ober was born and raised in Lititz, PA. She has a BA in English and Art History from Muhlenberg College, and she is currently in the MATESOL program at The New School. Her work has previously been published in Wicked Alice, Canteen, No Is For Wimps, Toasted Cheese, and Word Riot. This is her first chapbook.
dash and agathe
i think of us beating around
new york slugging scotch
from your flask on the subway
and you egg me on to swallow more,
"you're going to taste it
either way," and i tell you
my lip gloss will ruin
the taste. "it kills the burn,"
you say. we transfer and wait
for the f train at bryant park
and talk about an article
in new york: one cold night
dash and agathe snow
stood on a downtown subway platform,
freezing in their ripped jeans
and flannel shirts, but excited
to be alive. they walked to the next
station through the tunnel
and came out covered
in soot. "they must be lying,"
i say. in law school you studied
a case where a man walked through
the tunnel alone and sued the city
when he lost his leg. "see,
it's possible." you lean out
to look for the lights of the f.