Chere

I can see Chere, hip Chere,
with thick, long brown hair,
t-shirts and faded Levi’s—
grunge cool before
Starbuck’s set up
its first coffee shop.

Karol Nielsen

Karol Nielsen is the author of the memoirs Raising the Price of the House, Walking A&P, and Black Elephants and three poetry chapbooks. Her first memoir was shortlisted for the William Saroyan International Prize for Writing. Her full-length poetry collection was a finalist for the Colorado Prize for Poetry. Her poem “This New Manhattan” was a finalist for the Ruth Stone Poetry Prize. Her work has appeared in Epiphany, Guernica, and elsewhere.