National Poetry Month : K.I. Press,

Yeoman Rand Reports a Sexual Assault
(in which the poet does nothing but summarize an episode of Star Trek)

Janice was too young for the lonely ship.
Hair too high, uniform
too short. Hormones reaching out
for the brightest star. She moved her hands so secret-
arily. Her boss was hot.
She let him in. Lucky
the automatic doors. Lucky a crew
man walked by, looking.

Otherwise, witness
the dematerialization of his evil
alter ego into the void; into the imaginary.
In space (as on Earth), no one
will hear you scream.

Evil Alter Ego apologized, and
she said okay, he could
come back. But her boss

needed his rapey side
back inside. His friends told him:
we can’t respect you like this.
Reintegrate, but maybe work on your acting.

She approached him when he was a whole man,
and offered him her duties,
crush-flustered. He enjoyed
turning her down, mid-office,
knowing looks around.

 

 

K.I. Press is the author of four books of poetry including Types of Canadian Women (Gaspereau) and Exquisite Monsters (Turnstone). She teaches writing in Winnipeg.