Sophia Upshaw

Self Portrait as a Record Needle

Sophia Upshaw

I come home from work, a red pail overflowing with words, eager to make sandcastles out of sentences. I unclasp my bra & toss it on the armchair, eat my black bean burger with a fork & knife, and set tea lights ablaze. I place my gilded Goodwill candelabra on the window sill, a reverse SOS signal to show the world, or at least the dog walkers, that tonight, I’m more than okay, that all that’s missing is a bubble bath – the aroma of lavender stems tied to sandalwood softening my shoulder blades, Chet Baker spinning in vinyl circles. He pins his love to his lapel and I soften, melting over my desk like warm butter. I am as dainty as a record needle, a Two Buck Chuck sommelier, sipping Pinot Noir from a mason jar. All I need is an audience, a darling little crow to knock at my window with his beak, candle flames dancing across beady black eyes –I’ll read him this poem and turn his feathers pink, orange, blue – the color of the sunset as it thaws across the sky, a celestial billboard advertising an evening well spent.

Sophia Upshaw lives in Tallahassee, Florida. Her work has been featured in The Kudzu Review and Mistake House Magazine.