Ready for Texas by Nicole Bennett

Digging into the sweet potatoes with the
two knives held between his fingers like
chopsticks, he asked me, “Where are you from
again?” then told me he’d always wanted to
move to Austin—a sentiment too frequently
expressed by people who have never lived there.
That city’s crowded enough as it is—
having lived there for sixteen years,
I would know—with Los Angeles rejects and
Yankee yuppies hungry for sun,
so normally, I advise people to go elsewhere,
but this guy liked Spanish punk music and knew what a
double IPA was. I pictured him eating a
snow cone at Barton Springs, I envisioned him
flanked by fellow artists at a dive bar,
and I thought, You know, he could hack it.

That night, after dinner, he gave me a
ride home, and the floor of his car
was a collage of Nicorette wrappers and wisps of
fake fur. I’d never before
met someone so ready for Texas.

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About the author:

Nicole Bennett is a delightful young poet who loves to make herself laugh. She currently lives in Rockville, Maryland, although she was born and raised in the smothering heat of Austin, Texas. While she has yet to assimilate into the American workforce, she intends to once she graduates from her beloved Oberlin College in 2019. More of her work can be found in The Plum Creek Review, but she encourages anyone looking for an engaging social media experience to follow her on Twitter (@icyonic).