The Ouija Board Said, We’re Floating Like Rilke by Kelli Russell Agodon

"Love us as foolish gods."

The Ouija Board Said, We’re Floating Like Rilke

by Kelli Russell Agodon

Said—All dead things soon. Said—We hair.
Tonight, I have more than I ever had
and still feel loss. Tonight, we blind taste-tested
vodka—France won. The cheapest of the three. 
The Oujia board said—Belief autumn. Said—
Afternoon fairy of foxglove. Said—Forgive magnanimously. 
‍I asked—monogamously? Another article
on how to look younger, how to have the body
of a twenty-something. My brain skinny-dips
in the ocean, has a hot girl summer without leaving
my skull. Magenta child. Otherworldly.
Keep your cigars out of my creativity.
The Ouija board says—Love us
as foolish gods. Says—Late summer fireflies.
‍My goddess, my godliness, we gave our power away.
If the voices in your head still speak to you, make them
show you who they are.

First published in ONLY POEMS, June 2024.