Pris Campbell

Interchangeable Idols

Out from under that blue velvet underground of Elvis, The Everly Brothers, Paul Anka, creep memories of my school friends, lips puckered red in the back seat of the band bus; of love notes folded over into matchbox size and passed hand over hand, with giggles; the wild boy in Civics class with the curly eyelashes, golden ducktail, leaving a crimson wake on our cheeks when he passed; of bobby sox over saddle shoes longing to join the dance grownups dance in their beds late at night … but not our own parents, ever, never. And now you time travel me back to sixteen and never been kissed, days when I longed for Elvis to take me instead of Priscilla to Graceland. I wait for you now instead. I’ve waited for someone like you since my turbulent divorce, forgetting Elvis after he became drug bloated and sprinkled with sequins, too far gone for me to want to be “the one” in his dreams. You’re my Eagles Man….my Randy Newman. We vibrate to newer music. I hold my arms open to embrace you.

strolling egret
— time for dinner
has arrived.

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About the Author

Pris Campbell’s work has appeared in numerous print and online journals. She’s placed or had an honorable mention in several competitions, including first place in the Marlene Mountain and the Sanford Goldstein 2021 contests, and published nine books/chapbooks. A former clinical psychologist until sidelined by ME/CFS in 1990, she makes her home with her husband in Southeast Florida.

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