By Nicole Sealey

Withstand pandemonium
and scandalous
nightstands
commanding candlelight

         and
         quicksand

and zinfandel
clandestine landmines
candy handfuls
and contraband

         and
         handmade

commandments
and merchandise
secondhand husbands
philandering

         and
         landless

and vandal
bandwagons slandered
and branded
handwritten reprimands

         and
         meander

on an island
landscaped with chandeliers
abandon handcuffs
standstills

         and
         backhands

notwithstanding
thousands of oleanders
and dandelions
handpicked

         and
         sandalwood

and mandrake
and random demands
the bystander
wanders

         in
         wonderland.

Poet Bio

Nicole Sealey was born in St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands, and raised in Apopka, Florida. She earned an MLA in Africana studies from the University of South Florida and an MFA in creative writing from New York University. She is currently the executive director at Cave Canem, the 2018-2019 Doris Lippman Visiting Poet at The City College of New York, a visiting professor at Boston University, and a 2019-2020 Hodder Fellow at Princeton University. See More By This Poet