shannon cates

vacancy

:the space where something used to be, or should be;
:neon flashing sign that welcomes you home
:glowing expression of negative space;
:a bed with no sleeper;
:meant to be filled and then filled again;
:a promise;
:a yearning;
:the unfilled grave of what once lived there;
:a fruit basket at the end of summer;
:a needless loss;
:something that you seek but ultimately destroy;
:positive erasure;
:negative possibility;
:a place made to be left;
:an opening, like a mouth;
:left to rust;
:a new moon sky;
:a help wanted ad;
:a closed storefront;
:the light colored square where a painting once hung on a wall;
:an open field;
:a broken cacoon;
:ruins;
:a state of emptiness that implies something was once there and will be again; 

alien abductionville

barbie dream house / corner lot /  familar places / displacement / safe haven of cubicle 
refugees / packed quiet in ticky-tacky cereal boxes / signs proclaiming / the death of the 
super kmart / a warning / capture the good life / before it’s gone / nostalgia / gingham /
kitsch destruction / a utopia of sorts / standing in the dairy aisle / atomic housewife meet   
soccer mom /  don’t you love / the smell of mown grass /  i’ve seen enough green / to 
carpet the desert / and yet / it’s disquieting / to hear nature so silent / choked tight / 
hemmed in by / driveways / car culture / streetlights / what passes for street life / 
egg-poaching asphalt / and sidewalks / all sidewalks lead to / nowhere / you are 
nowhere / but still here / still square / and green / and sweating / one summer we 
opened the windows / when the power went out and / i saw a june bug / on the screen / 
i screamed / i wonder how many legs / have climbed out of identical windows / and run 
along cracked concrete / seeking the best part of sunset / the city skyline’s burning eye /
obscured behind the silhouetted mcmansions but / a blush of pink still crests the 
rooftops / solar panels / christmas lights / like a halo / like an exit sign / like the fading 
memory of the suburban dream