Juan de Espinosa’s Still-Life with Shell Fountain and Flowers (1645)

Clam Tears

Wrecker of my edge, you champ! 

Magnesium for the butterflies and 

salted butter for the silly olde cod, 

a diamond,

making its way down toward the brackish bottom of Venice,

feet, fingers, meatballs, and seamen, and spectacles,

bitter oils, fruit baskets, whips, combs, and canes,

a mountain of leaders, 

a bridge of billygoats, 

admission for a pound of pork.

Montana James Thomas lives and works in New York City. His work has appeared in Hanging Loose Magazine, Forever Magazine and Blush Lit, among others. He writes the column “The Stink,” which explores smell and culture, for Byline. He is the author of the poetry chapbook, POMERANIAN (Dirt Child Press, 2023), and Concerning the Dinner (2024). He co-hosts the reading series Straight Girls at KGB Bar Red Room.