Kristin Gustafson – Local Author

Kristin Gustafson Credit: Courtesy photo

Kristin Gustafson is a poet and editor from Cleveland Heights, Ohio. Her poetry has been published in over a dozen literary magazines and she is one of Literary Cleveland’s 2023-2024 Breakthrough Writing Residents. Kristin will be presenting at Literary Cleveland’s Inkubator Writing Conference at the downtown Cleveland Public Library on September 20-21.

Ode to the Wendy’s on Cedar Road

The Wendy’s across the street from my high school
might have well been a holy site.
The pilgrimage, a rite of passage for band kids;
we stood in a practiced line, clutching
free Frosty cards meant for children,
ready to receive our cold communion,
a holy body to melt away our teenage sins.

And oh, how we sinned—
whispered to our stand partners
every time the conductor had to remind
the trombonists they were not gods;
practiced our double-tonguing
with theater kids in private
practice rooms; came
in late to rehearsals,
fries in one hand,
flutes in the other.

The summer of senior year,
too many neglected nuggets
led to an infestation.
Spiders spilled from the bells of sousaphones.
Cockroaches crept from a cello’s womb.
We ate in the cafeteria that semester,
choked down our pride with cardboard pizza,
turned west toward Wendy’s in prayer
and wept.

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This article appears in Aug 28 – Sep 10, 2024.