Jill M. Talbot<\/strong><\/p> “Hell is truth seen too late.” LISTEN UP, maybe it was that bad. NOBODY\ncould any longer pretend otherwise. NOBODY\u2019s post-truth became pre-apocalyptic\nwithout a diagnosis from an anesthesiologist. NOBODY wore orwell like tommy\nhilfiger in the 90s without a selfie. NOBODY watched 90\u2019s sitcoms except\nironically. NOBODY wore cosby sweaters to prom. NOBODY called out entitlement\non twitter without a mob. NOBODY\u2019s distress was the new password for entry into\nthe martha stewart fan club. NOBODY walked out of hell without a camera crew.\nNOBODY took pee breaks at a normal pace while falling for men in movies of tax\nheists. NOBODY\u2019s devil horns could grow back without splashes of blood. NOBODY\ncould impeach god or rest in peace near a highway. NOBODY\u2019s just-like-chicken<\/em> passed the drug test.\nNOBODY\u2019s pussy said grace when will was out to lunch. NOBODY was as big or\nsmall as they wished to be, requests were discarded like poppies on remembrance\nday. NOBODY could taste the snow without coughing up humanity. NOBODY could\nsolve the question of numbers because even god gets tired of counting bodies.\nNOBODY could blame catholics for blessings that occurred after-the-fact.\nNOBODY\u2019s alternative version of events could bring back rare coins or beating\nhearts. NOBODY could be a jack-of-all-trades<\/em>\nbecause we\u2019re all in this together<\/em>\nwas for times when the neutrality card could win the game. NOBODY could play\ndumb when the hurricane was in the living room. NOBODY knew if the elephant in\nthe room dies, do you have a funeral? NOBODY\u2019s teeth cracked enough to save\nthem. NOBODY put rah rah<\/em> on a bumper\nsticker. NOBODY\u2019s fire could solve world hunger. NOBODY watched louie<\/em> without a barf bag. NOBODY knew if\nit were worse to date a poet or a comedian. NOBODY\nsaid downtown is the new homeless.<\/em>\nNOBODY tried to open an umbrella inside,\nexcept for nihilists. NOBODY could count fares when shots were falling from the ceiling. NOBODY folded\nthemselves flat\u2014glossy and muted. NOBODY\nraised a fist to the gods of poetry. NOBODY\ncould see the fruit bleed dark blood. NOBODY harbored a fugitive penguin. NOBODY feared the worst because it had\nalready happened. NOBODY served their country a\nplate of mirrors. NOBODY wrote love\nletters to justin trudeau. NOBODY knew how to write instructions in scripts\nwhen acting was like dying. NOBODY could\nclose the lid of the year NOBODY could\nopen. NOBODY could re-bury the right bones at wind river. NOBODY brought on the storm without a torch. NOBODY could\nname something that could kill 1.8 million people.\nNOBODY’s ego purred without a lapdance first. NOBODY could want NOBODY and feel\nit. NOBODY could watch the little mermaid\nwithout jealousy. NOBODY could free horses by putting quarters in jukeboxes. NOBODY could name their abuser like a\nbathrobe. NOBODY could throw children out of\nwindows without watching them fall.\nNOBODY said lordy now<\/em>. NOBODY could\nsubtract their thinking. NOBODY chalked it’s\nso great to be<\/em> alive<\/em> on a\nblackboard. NOBODY balked. NOBODY drove a hummer in canada. NOBODY hearted james comey. NOBODY died because they\nhad access to health care. NOBODY\nfacebook friended their worst enemy. NOBODY played violins filled with water.\nNOBODY knew when to stop counting during hide and seek or if seven minutes in heaven<\/em> would lead to\ncancer. NOBODY avoided canada geese when they were hoping to hitch a ride.\nNOBODY knew how to say keep climbing<\/em>.\nNOBODY knew how to offer scenic views to a cemetery. NOBODY knocked at the door\nfor NOBODY and NOBODY cared. NOBODY wept snowflakes. NOBODY got the good news\nfirst because NOBODY knew the difference. NOBODY swore to god without a trial.\nNOBODY was afraid of wolves because honesty was the best policy. NOBODY cried a\nsalty ocean and named it after the\ngodfather. <\/em>NOBODY\u2019s first commandment was to admit their secret aloneness.\nNOBODY\u2019s nightlight kept day from coming. NOBODY\u2019s goldilocks zone was groomed\nto perfection. NOBODY was a free agent. NOBODY was taken by the men of ice\nduring the good wife<\/em>. NOBODY had ten\nreasons to be cruel. NOBODY could tell it\nlike it is<\/em> to flocks of plucked chickens. NOBODY could describe it as an\napproaching shadow. NOBODY read jung by candle. NOBODY\u2019s dog god could say the\nmeaning of green grass or bird behavior. NOBODY marched without daughters,\nmothers, sisters. NOBODY awoke to songs made of shots. NOBODY knew how to keep\na tree from falling except in the hypothetical. NOBODY knew if fireworks could\nprevent the ghosts from coming. Jill M. Talbot<\/strong><\/p> \/\/\/
\n\n\n\n
\u2014 Thomas Hobbes<\/em><\/p><\/font>\n\n\n\n
NOBODY did nothing to stop it.
NOBODY wrote this poem.
\n\n\n\nA Shovel Is Like A Lover<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>
\n\n\n\nYou may need a different shovel
in different circumstances. Everyone
has one\u2014except for those who don\u2019t.
It\u2019s like shopping for a new lover. Tinder
may seem like a good place when you
just want to rid of the president\u2019s face\u2014
temporarily. A shovel is like a lover
because you always put your driveway
first. A bar\u2019s fine if you need to believe
we\u2019re in this together\u2014or we\u2019re in
a different era\u2014when America was great
in bed. A shovel is like a lover because
it\u2019s almost impossible to find the
true fit\u2014and sometimes there\u2019s so much
snow overnight, you start to wonder if
anyone should touch it\u2014if maybe
we should all stop trying to pave our
way out. If maybe we should all make
snow angels and skip class. If maybe
we should just wait for the Zamboni Man.
A shovel is like that.
\n\n\n\n
Jill M. Talbot’s writing has appeared in CV2<\/em>, The Fiddlehead<\/em>, Geist<\/em>, Rattle<\/em>, PRISM<\/em>, The Stinging Fly<\/em>, and others. Jill won the PRISM Grouse Grind Lit Prize. She was shortlisted for the Matrix Lit POP Award and the Malahat Far Horizons Award. Jill lives in Vancouver, BC.
“NOBODY: New Year’s 2018” is a (sort of) sequel to Jill’s poem “NOBODY,” which was published by Rattle<\/em> in 2017. Read that poem here<\/a>! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/oxmag\/files\/2020\/06\/output-onlinepngtools-6.png\")
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n