it’s always summer here.
a dying sun spills gold
onto bowing blades of grass.
don’t mind the mess,

we’re still in the aftermath
of a natural disaster 
from some years back. 
we’ve mostly recovered 

but some of the creatures 
who live here flinch 
if you get too close, 
like a dog used

to getting kicked. if you sign
up for the tour, you can see more
of the private collection.
there are the childhood teeth

still on their fraught
string necklace, and ooh—
an exhibit featuring [redacted]
and how he [redacted] us.

in the gift shop feel
free to adorn yourself 
with empty jewels, or 
purchase an origami crown 

in the shape of a real one. 
and get this—all of it, all of it, 
is at once invisible
and all you can keep your
eye on, like a prism held
up to the light.




Published December 5, 2021

Mya Matteo Alexice is a Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net nominated poet. Their poems can be found in or are forthcoming in publications such as Hobart, Cherry Tree, Harbor Review, underblong, Black Fork Review, and others. Their chapbook, 'can the subaltern shriek?', was published by Quarto Magazine. They also read for Palette Poetry.

Born in Victoria, British Columbia, Amy Brener is an artist based in New York. Brener received a BA in Studio Arts from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, an MFA in Sculpture from Hunter College in New York, and she attended the Skowhegan School of Painting in Maine. Her work has been exhibited by galleries all over the world, including Jack Barrett Gallery, Essex Flowers Gallery, and MoMA PS1 in New York City, Reyes Finn in Detroit, Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas, MacLaren Art Centre in Ontario, Erin Stump Projects in Toronto, Galerie PACT in Paris, Wentrup Gallery in Berlin, and Riverside Art Museum in Beijing. Brener’s artwork is also part of permanent collections in New York, Dallas, Kentucky, and Germany. More of Brener’s work can be viewed on her website.