Ivanna Baranova & Chloe Watlington

How to Give the Bourgeoisie Insomnia

floodlights on a loud siren
first hit

mass defection
second story

the end
to former tracks laid

open mouth
sentenced to sympathy

prayer candle lit
from behind

everyone grip
clock the pivot

my uncle’s guns
collective split

flash quit analysis
reconstitute the line

mental life less brittle
in echo with the other

and the unlikely
bringer of punk rock

to scam with the Imagists
God provided

this my dissonant city
open devotion

left to immortal stewards
distributed in pits

Ivanna Baranova is a poet from the Pacific Northwest, living in Los Angeles, working across language, sound, image, and movement. She is Co-Director of The Poetic Research Bureau. Recent books include Threshold (Inpatient Press, 2024) and Continuum (Metatron Press, 2023).

Chloe Watlington is a writer and editor based in Los Angeles. She teaches short story workshops at The Poetry Field School.