Renting a Room at Home

Untitled, from “Thank you for being here” (2023), Asa Muhammad.
My house is furnished with jars of tar and spit
they don’t belong to me
but take up the empty spaces
Leave the TV on after dinner
to drown the stillness with canned laughter or politicians on the evening news
if the volume is loud enough, then you can forget to dream
shroud a memory in the pillowcase
Don’t ask about my grandmother
try to transmit signals through crossed electrical wires
with careful words that won’t reverberate against kitchen cabinets
Maybe slip through the hallway unscathed and
check for signs of life
listen for snoring
smoke seeping through the front door
stale ashes settling to dust by the corner
ignore the empty bottles clinging to each other
shirts stacked under the bed for warmth
they’ll keep company
There’s not much left
one less imprint of a body on the couch
no more trees in the front yard
no more apples left to pick
just bones wrapped in bandages and soil
I found a note on my mom’s old phone
God will meet you where you are—stop running
(nothing more you can do)

Madeline Johnson
Publab Fellow 2023
Originally from the Great Lake town of Erie, Pennsylvania, Madeline Johnson currently lives in Los Angeles. They hold a BA from Syracuse University in international relations, journalism, and Spanish literature. With experience in research and nonprofit work, Madeline is pursuing a career in publishing nonfiction. In addition to writing poetry and hopefully excerpts for a future memoir, Madeline enjoys creating various arts and crafts while watching reality TV with her two cats and learning to produce atmospheric music. You can find them on instagram @astralprojectme.
Asa Muhammad
Artist
Asa Muhammad is a creative writing student at the the University of Chicago. More an archivist than an artists, he aims to preseve moments shared with him through image and word. This photo comes from his series “Thank you for being here,” created when a few of his friends wanted to commemorate their friendship by homaging the Pink Floyd “Wish You Were Here” album cover.