Natalie Young
Natalie Young is a founding editor of the poetry magazine Sugar House Review. By day, she works as an art director for an ad agency based out of Salt Lake City. Recent publications include Drunken Boat, Green Mountains Review, Tampa Review, Rattle, South Dakota Review, Los Angeles Times, Tar River Poetry, and others. Natalie is left-handed, half Puerto Rican, and a fan of Oscar the Grouch and purple potatoes. NatalieYoungArts.com
Notes on Earth Life
A child in a pink coat leaves her music lesson. Her cheeks match her coat. Her father sells
insurance based on how long an equation expects a person to stay alive.
The old man died. Sometimes humans just die. And you cannot save them.
Sometimes humans do not die, and you cannot save them.
There is a television program about a real human family doing normal earth things—there are
many programs with real people doing what people always do. Humans stop doing what they do
to watch.
When humans determine an animal is too ill, they end the life.
This is called “putting it to sleep.” It costs $66.87(US) for a 20-lb. dog to sleep.
The capitol city sits in a valley between mountains, trapping air. Weather reports call a day with
dirty air “hazy.” The haze hurts to breathe. The haze is measured in particles and colors.
The adult male across the street can play the piano and make sculptures. He plays well.
This is a stimulation for many females, particularly those who enjoy show tunes.
Being tall with tight skin, that is what humans like.
What do humans and our kind like? Water. Blankets. Sugar.
These things are both new and old to us.