{"id":13752,"date":"2020-06-10T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-06-10T19:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/two-poems-by-stephanie-athena-valente\/"},"modified":"2026-05-04T12:29:50","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T17:29:50","slug":"two-poems-by-stephanie-athena-valente","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/2020\/06\/10\/two-poems-by-stephanie-athena-valente\/","title":{"rendered":"Lovers in Alchemy &amp; The Problem With Ghosts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<ul class=\"wp-block-social-links is-content-justification-right is-layout-flex wp-container-core-social-links-is-layout-765c4724 wp-block-social-links-is-layout-flex\"><li class=\"wp-social-link wp-social-link-facebook  wp-block-social-link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/profile.php?id=61556140010887\" class=\"wp-block-social-link-anchor\"><svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" 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s-0.009,2.688-0.052,3.637c-0.04,0.877-0.187,1.354-0.31,1.671c-0.163,0.42-0.358,0.72-0.673,1.035 c-0.315,0.315-0.615,0.51-1.035,0.673c-0.317,0.123-0.794,0.27-1.671,0.31c-0.949,0.043-1.233,0.052-3.637,0.052 s-2.688-0.009-3.637-0.052c-0.877-0.04-1.354-0.187-1.671-0.31c-0.42-0.163-0.72-0.358-1.035-0.673 c-0.315-0.315-0.51-0.615-0.673-1.035c-0.123-0.317-0.27-0.794-0.31-1.671C4.631,14.688,4.622,14.403,4.622,12 s0.009-2.688,0.052-3.637c0.04-0.877,0.187-1.354,0.31-1.671c0.163-0.42,0.358-0.72,0.673-1.035 c0.315-0.315,0.615-0.51,1.035-0.673c0.317-0.123,0.794-0.27,1.671-0.31C9.312,4.631,9.597,4.622,12,4.622 M12,3 C9.556,3,9.249,3.01,8.289,3.054C7.331,3.098,6.677,3.25,6.105,3.472C5.513,3.702,5.011,4.01,4.511,4.511 c-0.5,0.5-0.808,1.002-1.038,1.594C3.25,6.677,3.098,7.331,3.054,8.289C3.01,9.249,3,9.556,3,12c0,2.444,0.01,2.751,0.054,3.711 c0.044,0.958,0.196,1.612,0.418,2.185c0.23,0.592,0.538,1.094,1.038,1.594c0.5,0.5,1.002,0.808,1.594,1.038 c0.572,0.222,1.227,0.375,2.185,0.418C9.249,20.99,9.556,21,12,21s2.751-0.01,3.711-0.054c0.958-0.044,1.612-0.196,2.185-0.418 c0.592-0.23,1.094-0.538,1.594-1.038c0.5-0.5,0.808-1.002,1.038-1.594c0.222-0.572,0.375-1.227,0.418-2.185 C20.99,14.751,21,14.444,21,12s-0.01-2.751-0.054-3.711c-0.044-0.958-0.196-1.612-0.418-2.185c-0.23-0.592-0.538-1.094-1.038-1.594 c-0.5-0.5-1.002-0.808-1.594-1.038c-0.572-0.222-1.227-0.375-2.185-0.418C14.751,3.01,14.444,3,12,3L12,3z M12,7.378 c-2.552,0-4.622,2.069-4.622,4.622S9.448,16.622,12,16.622s4.622-2.069,4.622-4.622S14.552,7.378,12,7.378z M12,15 c-1.657,0-3-1.343-3-3s1.343-3,3-3s3,1.343,3,3S13.657,15,12,15z M16.804,6.116c-0.596,0-1.08,0.484-1.08,1.08 s0.484,1.08,1.08,1.08c0.596,0,1.08-0.484,1.08-1.08S17.401,6.116,16.804,6.116z\"><\/path><\/svg><span class=\"wp-block-social-link-label screen-reader-text\">Instagram<\/span><\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>Stephanie Athena Valente<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">__________<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:25px\"><strong>Lovers in Alchemy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">drip me in quartz,<br>powder my lips<br>purple swollen, i ate the bees,<br>there was nothing left alive<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">tinged eyelashes<br>her skin, dripping<br>pretending to be translucent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">we\u2019re gamine, thinking about<br>the humanity, not thinking about humanity<br>sipping, slipping polished stones<br>like royal honey, like truth<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">into diamond pots,<br>we\u2019re listening nymphs, nymph<br>i\u2019ll glisten you in lace, i\u2019ll seethe<br>at you, over her man\u2019s shoulder,<br>perched legs and all<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">wild haired,<br>counted her ribs at nightfall,<br>blueberry chills sweat in bed,<br>rubies under a pillow,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">secret cosmos by the stones, with her<br>long torso,<br>i mimic the syrup voice, in a dream<br>i paint you gold, i\u2019ll tuck, keep<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">leftover mythologies, under our tongues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">__________<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:25px\"><strong>The Problem With Ghosts<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Loving one is easy, but you shouldn\u2019t \u2013<br>The missed phone calls, the blood in the mirror<br>It\u2019s all dramatics, a fight that finishes with static<br>Invisible hands that rub my neck in the middle<br>Of a blue moon night, they\u2019ll riddle you forever<br>Promises that sound better than flesh, if you dare,<br>Just take my name and wear my crown, they\u2019ll say.<br>Sooner or later, the story replays itself \u2013<br>Red and dead, holding your breath in a bathtub<br>Ghosts peel through the wallpaper, singing broken records<br>Your hair greys, but you won\u2019t wake up again. They will.<br>You\u2019ll feel powerful, but not forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">__________<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>Stephanie Athena Valente<\/strong> lives in Brooklyn, NY. Her published works include <em>Hotel Ghost<\/em>, <em>waiting for the end of the world<\/em>, and <em>Little Fang<\/em> (Bottlecap Press, 2015-2019). She has work included in <em>Reality Hands<\/em>, <em>TL;DR<\/em>, and <em>Cosmonauts Avenue<\/em>. She is the associate editor at <em>Yes, Poetry<\/em>. Sometimes, she feels human.&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/stephanievalente.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">stephanievalente.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>__________<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"438\" height=\"211\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/01\/boudin-logo-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15484\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/01\/boudin-logo-1.jpg 438w, https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/01\/boudin-logo-1-300x145.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 438px) 100vw, 438px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-large-font-size\">&lt;&lt; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/2020\/05\/20\/two-poems-by-adam-tavel\/\">Back<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/2020\/06\/01\/three-poems-by-sara-moore-wagner\/\">Next<\/a> &gt;&gt;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">To learn more about submitting your work to <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/boudin-submissions\/\">Boudin<\/a><\/em> or applying to McNeese State University&#8217;s Creative Writing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/mfa-application-submissions\/\">MFA program<\/a>, please visit Submissions for details.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Stephanie Athena Valente __________ Lovers in Alchemy drip me in quartz,powder my lipspurple swollen, i ate the bees,there was nothing left alive tinged eyelashesher skin, drippingpretending to be translucent. we\u2019re gamine, thinking aboutthe humanity, not thinking about humanitysipping, slipping polished stoneslike royal honey, like truth into diamond pots,we\u2019re listening nymphs, nymphi\u2019ll glisten you in lace,&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[252,17],"tags":[75,77,99,18],"class_list":["post-13752","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-boudin-2020","category-poetry","tag-boudin","tag-mcneesereview","tag-stephanieathenavalente","tag-poetry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13752","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13752"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13752\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22358,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13752\/revisions\/22358"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13752"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13752"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13752"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}