Steph Castor: 3 Poems

Bonus Land

Picture a corsage
made of 44 dandelions
picked to test the
lung capacity
of a 23-year-old;

the solace in a tickle war
with hair to match her name;

one hour
–scratch that– 
half an episode of sleep
where you see flowers,
but bad guys pull weeds,
or maybe
it’s the other way around;

every mile as a stilted dandelion
while you’re a weightless seed
–some “gossamer” wannabe
stuck to the cat’s back;

a familiar tunnel vision
like you’re trying
to get your high in check;
a Ruby Throated loner
Swarming the head;

a rhythmic reset
after a blood-thirsty
button mash
when CONTINUE is
the only logical
decision,
and you’re playing
for the story.

Passenger Seat

Aberdeen is her name,
not to be taken lightly
You named her
for mountains
a harbor tryst
and pressed against me
leaned in
ribs deep in the railing

A reminder to
soak in it

The lighting
looks best
when you’re dancing
It follows your hair
cascades down
your collarbone
Copper strands
pooling and spilling
over the empty space
your flux
is dying to fill

1126

If I had a key to every room

A bouquet would garnish each window

Peruvian lilies

Or something equally animated

When they are otherwise

Impossible to find


Some might call me crazy

For driving so much

​But rest assured

I’m resting

And we are both

Smelling the flowers

Steph Castor is a poet and musician. She began playing guitar at age 11 and took three lessons before starting a band. While she still can't read music, most of her narrative comes from half her life spent on the road. Castor spends her current days working as shop manager of Goodfellas Tattoo Gallery in Kansas City, Missouri as well as educating queer youth about ongoing ways to smash the patriarchy through performance, civic engagement, and writing. Past work can be found in Guitar Girl Magazine, Guitar World, Tattoo.com, and more. Her book Bedroom Music was released in March 2019.