by Tony Schanuel
In the pseudo-documentary, there is a large white owl—
this is how the abductees describe the alien.
An owl outside the window, for hours, staring.
An owl at the foot of the bed, looking
for the TV clicker. An owl in the bathroom
and it didn’t shut the toilet seat with its giant
talons. The movie is filmed split-screen: the real
victim and the actor side-by-side, and when the owl
gets too close, they scream, oh my god, oh my god,
it’s in my house, it’s in my house, together.
Of course, I watch this at night with my husband
in bed beside me in the blue-lit room, the television
on mute, the dialogue closed-captioned so I don’t
wake him. Sounds are put in brackets: [shriek]
when there are no words [sigh] or [grunt] or [cry].
Jennifer Martelli (she, her, hers) is the author of The Queen of Queens (forthcoming, Bordighera Press, 2022) and My Tarantella (Bordighera Press), awarded an Honorable Mention from the Italian-American Studies Association, selected as a 2019 “Must Read” by the Massachusetts Center for the Book, and named as a finalist for the Housatonic Book Award. She is also the author of the chapbooks In the Year of Ferraro (Nixes Mate Press) and After Bird, winner of the Grey Book Press open reading, 2016. Her work will appear or has appeared in The Tahoma Literary Review, Thrush, Cream City Review, Verse Daily, Iron Horse Review (winner, Photo Finish contest), and Poetry. Jennifer Martelli has twice received grants from the Massachusetts Cultural Council for her poetry. She is co-poetry editor for Mom Egg Review.
Tony Schanuel is an award-winning photographer and visual artist who has fused a professional background in photography, digital technology, and painting and mark making to create fine art that transcends those mediums. His work has been featured in Digital Imaging Magazine, Computer Graphic Magazine, Wild Heart Journal, St. Louis Design Magazine, and is a featured artist in Cyber Palette and Extreme Graphics, two books showcasing digital artists and their work. He has exhibited at the Florence Biennale and his art is held in private and corporate collections including the Fine Arts Museum of Houston permanent photographic collection.