by Sara Backer

He was reading a book, Gas Chromatization, and politely asked me the meaning of words.

Stray?—to wander off the path, atypical, a lost dog, rambling, unexpected, homeless

Stewing?—boiling food in broth, worrying, holding a grudge 

Amenable?—willing, friendly, getting along, open to the moment

Encompass?—circling, surrounding, including, embracing . . .

And now, I’m wondering if this is a suave pickup ploy. And now, I’m aware that all my underwear is in the wash and I’m not wearing a bra beneath my red sweater. I picture him sitting on a high windowsill, looking out at Soviet banners hanging off concrete buildings, at flooded streets, at a girl with a blue umbrella . . . and he says, with tender sadness, “I will show you how we drink Stolichnaya in Leningrad.”

He returns to his reading as I hurriedly jerk my clothes from the dryer.

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Sara Backer‘s first book of poetry, Such Luck (Flowstone Press 2019), follows two poetry chapbooks: Scavenger Hunt (dancing girl press), and Bicycle Lotus, which won the 2015 Turtle Island chapbook award. She holds an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Art and reads for The Maine Review. Recent and forthcoming publications include Tar River Poetry, Slant, CutBank, Lake Effect, Poetry Northwest, and Kenyon Review.