Alicia Lee
it’s time to pull the bottles from my bookshelves
and replace them with thrifted poetry and proper books
in the last decade I have maintained a collection
of potions and liqueurs, dusty whiskies, Old Tom gin
years of this witchcraft now bore me
each liter replaced with award-winning dead words
and classics I wish I had already read
my grandmother collected everything, her basement
filled with generations of discarded wardrobes and trinkets
I used to love trying on the veiled and beaded tilt hats
archived in the dark since the late 40’s, packed and
retired after victory parties from the last world war
and I collect estate glassware
with gilt edges and opaque etched flora
I wonder if the little coupes, shaped
after Marie Antoinette’s perfect breast,
attended the same soirees as those hats
those finishing thoughts, those cherries on top
the dutiful family decided too much was enough
the basement emptied into a rented dumpster
sequined gowns and mice droppings together
let’s pretend the landfill is just another gala
and my used up bottles crash the party
with cocktail ghosts
About the author
Alicia Lee is a Wisconsin-based poet and certified sommelier. She was recently awarded first place in the 2026 Lakefly Writing Contest. Her work is featured or forthcoming in Slipstream, Whimperbang, One Art, Eunoia Review, Creative Wisconsin, Mobius, and Trashlight Press. A contributor to the Voices of Neighbors anthology and the People’s Museum of Prince, she studied creative writing and wine in Washington state. She now focuses her work on her connection to the terroir of the Midwest.