Thrush Poetry Journal
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Roseanna Alice Boswell
​

On Seeing a Man Open-Carry Into An Ice Cream Shop
 
It’s almost like love
the way he cradles it
to his hip. I can easily 
imagine a thigh here:
the way he might pull tender 
skin over denim & leather. 
Who is he looking to unlonely 
with his swagger & metal. 
What is he hoping to find.
A casual drift of hand 
to holster & on to his wallet.
I hate admitting I’m afraid
but I’m always afraid
of men. & this man is so
forgettable. I already don’t
know his face. If pressed,
wouldn’t be able to provide
any details. Well, Officer, 
he looked exactly like you. Clean
-cut & white. Thumbing a belt loop.
This man is just getting some
ice cream on a Sunday.
Probably nothing more, 

although I can’t unsee 
the jealous way he holds the door
open. His hip swaying 
to let the gun in ahead of him. 
I’ve had enough dates to know 
he’s here for a good time, 
or a long time, or else.




Roseanna Alice Boswell is the author of Hiding in a Thimble (Haverthorn Press, 2021) and Imitating Light (Iron Horse Literary Review, 2021). A Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net nominee, Roseanna holds an MFA from Bowling Green State University and is a Ph.D. student in English-Creative Writing at Oklahoma State University. Her work has appeared in: RHINO, Whiskey Island, Glass: A Journal of Poetry, and elsewhere. Originally from upstate New York, Roseanna currently haunts the Oklahoma prairies with her husband and their cats, Bean and Blossom.



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