poetry by kelsey landhuis

The Wonder Spot

Of course it’s a trick. Water doesn’t run 
uphill and if it did wouldn’t this place be 
national news instead of a tourist trap for 
the waterpark-weary? Of course it’s a trick 
but listening to you laugh while I try to 
traverse this floor in a straight line is $20 
well spent. Of course it’s a trick but both 
of us are sober and the sun is shining through 
tiny cracks in the cabin roof onto spiderwebs 
that aren’t bothering anybody. Stand in the 
crooked doorway and I’ll take your picture with 
my dad’s Polaroid camera, contemplate kissing 
you while we wait for the film to develop but
hesitate too long. The tour guide says as we 
know not everything can be explained by science. 
You watch an American goldfinch land on the 
edge of the gutter, tilt its head like a 
curious child and take flight again without
any of us wondering how its wings work. 

Ghost Stories at Thousand Hills State Park

Everyone was making up ghost stories
as an excuse to sit closer together 
sandy knees and ankles touching as timidly
as the dirty lake water and high tide line
back then nothing scared me except for
being misunderstood by you
so I told some tale about a fisherman
who traded his voice for full nets
and couldn’t warn his beloved to
step back from the crumbling cliff by the time
I finished the fire was too low
to see your eyes but I gathered
my blanket and nerves shuffled
across the circle to your side and didn’t once
look out into the dark for monsters

Originally from the Midwest, Kelsey Landhuis (she/her) currently lives in Baltimore, Maryland with her spouse and cats. She can be found on Instagram at @kelsey_landhuis.