Lesbians at the Gun Store

By Catharine Wright

Issue 39 • Spring 2019 • Poetry

Regarding the garden of Eden when the snake offered Eve an apple
have we mentioned the satanic jaw
shined its thin teeth reflecting the juicy fruit
how Eve saw her breast reflected there too
a floury bulls eye.

My father once set me up in the backyard with his rifle
for a little lesson in self protection
tomato can, cleaned out, balanced on tree stump,
I shot that can three times
said, I have a good eye, don’t I.

Eve knew she was in the cross hairs
with that offer
had a target on her breast
pierced the skin slowly
said, this one is sour and spit it out.

My lover and I shop for a handgun
studying the advancing target
the gun too small for cross hairs.
Our breasts stand firm as we take aim,
the salesman says, it’s a good one,

but we’re too turned off to bite.

Catharine Wright

Catharine Wright is an eighth generation Vermonter who teaches courses such as Outlaw Women and Writing Gender and Sexuality at Middlebury College. She has published fiction, nonfiction and poetry in a variety of magazines including The Feminist Wire, Negative Capability, Praxis, Hurricane Alice, Narrative Northeast, and Children, Churches and Daddies, and has collaboratively written/edited two nonfiction books, Social Justice Education: Inviting Faculty to Transform Their Institutions, and Vermonters At Their Craft. She and her partner raised a queer blended family together and she is currently writing a lesbian love story.

Emily Tarnawa

Emily is a 21 year old queer emerging artist located in Massachusetts. Currently they are pursuing an undergraduate degree at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. Their focus in art is primarily using pencil, ink, and digital means to create. Themes often found in their art are all things creepy, nature, and human body related.