Patricia Caspers
You know the answer—or maybe you thought you knew the answer. You think of the guy in college everyone called monster breath, how he raised his hand as soon as the Hemingway story was finished. His eager bounce as he declared the secret. What did he know about it? What did Hemingway know? Hands shaking so—not from alcohol but fear of regret—they had to give you an illegal Valium so you could sign consent. Those folks did you a kindness. The days before, in bed, seasick and sucking on vinegar chips, and how you could never have sex with your boyfriend again without unleashing another kind of hangover, as if they’d surgically removed lust along with an embryo. The two of you loved each other before, and after, you loved him like a brother you could never marry. You couldn’t.
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Patricia Caspers is an award-winning writer and the founding editor-in-chief of West Trestle Review. She is the author of three full-length poetry collections, most recently The Most Kissed Woman in the World (Kelsay Books, 2024). Her work has appeared widely in journals such as Ploughshares, Valparaiso Poetry Review, and Malahat Review.