ADVENT DAY TWENT-FIVE: Daniela Olszewska

IT'S ALMOST CHRISTMAS 

It's almost Christmas + there's a mystery mammal  in my rearview mirror.

It's almost Christmas + I am pretty sure I am late. 

It's almost Christmas + we're headed towards a pinkly beaded city.

It's almost Christmas + historically, you're someone's mistress. 

It's almost Christmas + ignore me if we happen to fall into the same security line.

It's almost Christmas + ginger or cesspool. 

It's almost Christmas + for once, I am not broke. 

It's almost Christmas + there's too much mistletoe extract. 

It's almost Christmas + you've finally started acting like every other else, of course. 

It's almost Christmas + I am immediate in my sequins. 

It's almost Christmas + how tiresome, these pre-wives. 

It's almost Christmas + we're both stubborn in our skulls. 

It's almost Christmas + for once, I am not breaking. 

It's almost Christmas + you're looped into some Baba Yaga type. 

It's almost Christmas + here's a spiked boat.

It's almost Christmas + by definition, this is more than half a cult. 

It's almost Christmas + there's no such thing as an unnecessary boundary. 

It's almost Christmas + you're either an egg or a very tiny star. 

It's almost Christmas + I get ridiculous amongstest this briar patch. 

It's almost Christmas + oh Chicago, yeah, Chicago, YES. 

It's almost Christmas + let's get checked-up daily. 

It's almost Christmas + you're an evergreen-like devotion.

It's almost Christmas + we're crystal grieving again. 

It's almost Christmas + asymmetry's all accentuate.  

It's almost Christmas + LIPS. 

It's almost Christmas + a vessel made for two. 

It's almost Christmas + crucifixed. 

It's almost Christmas + hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha. 

It's almost Christmas + reindeer paints.

It's almost Christmas + here's a calculator made just for cakes.  

It's almost Christmas + I've over-actressed. 

It's almost Christmas + the same birthday for all twelve elves. 

It's almost Christmas + bring forth more SCIENTIFIC PROOF. 

It's almost Christmas + I'm hung up under a dumb Massachusetts moon. 

It's almost Christmas + hashtags or bust.

Daniela Olszewska is the author of three full-length collections of poetry: cloudfang : : cakedirt (Horse Less Press, 2012), True Confessions of An Escapee From The Capra Facility For Wayward Girls (Spittoon Press, 2013), and Citizen J (Artifice Books, 2013). With Carol Guess, she co-authored a collection of prose poems titled How To Feel Confident With Your Special Talents (Black Lawrence Press, 2014). She teaches ESL, composition, and creative writing at several Chicago colleges and is currently at work on her first novel.