Things Impossible to Swallow • poems by Pamela Garvey • number 24 in the 2River Chapbook Series • 2River

Under Yellow Jackets

The man, asleep on the hammock, snores and doesn’t
stir at all as yellow jackets mill around his face and throat—
attracted perhaps by the crust of barbecue sauce on the chin. At first
she thinks to wake him. Instead she dreams of herself
stinging his swollen neck with peroxide.