Ashland, Oregon
Pretty young and pretty,
she wears faded Levis
sans belt and a sleeveless
shirt. Blue arm tattoos
include butterflies and
vines and a cube with
a heart inside one box.
"It gets s-o-o-o hot
in Ashland in August,"
she says, going nearly
baritone for "so."
Blue bartender-eyes
don't miss a trick. She says
she tried a city--Portland
--but came back to Ashland
as most do. Oh, what
would William Shakespeare
do with you? I wonder
to myself. She sets a
mocktail mojito before
me on dark wood. I
think he would do something
spritely with her--
mischievous.
hans ostrom 2025
