Drown your sorrows, sad girl
but only your sorrows
lest your drenched gowns weigh you down
underwater in Ophelia’s grave
unable to tread
You know that no
peony flower crown can revive her
no primrose riverbed can lead anywhere new
so strip off your sopping gowns
nevermind the nunnery, walk out into the woods
start a coven
don’t meet your ex at the bar
Hamlet wasn’t that cool anyway
Vesta Vaingloria is a poet, performer, and deathrock dandy native to Los Angeles, whose work explores the gray areas of sexuality, subculture, and the confusing condition of being a human person. Informed by Dandyism, the Gothic, Feminism, and Queer Studies she seeks to shine a figurative light on literal darkness. She earned her BA in English from Loyola Marymount University and MFA in Writing from CalArts in 2014. She has been a resident Poet Whore in The Poetry Brothel and The Poetry Society of New York since 2014, an immersive poetry cabaret celebrating decadence, intellectual hedonism, and destigmatizing sex work. She can be found nightly on a barstool with a book, avoiding talking to you. Vesta On Poetry Society