Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic
Hosted by Christopher Luna and Toni Lumbrazo Luna of Printed Matter Vancouver
Featuring Joannie Stangeland
7 pm
Thursday, August 8
Open mic sign up begins at 6:30 and closes at 7
$5 Suggested donation
Angst Gallery
1015 Main Street
Vancouver, WA 98660
angstgallery.com
Food and libation provided by Niche Wine Bar, 1013 Main Street
Sound provided by Briz Loan & Guitar: http://briz.us/
LGBTQ+ FRIENDLY, ALL AGES, AND UNCENSORED SINCE 2004

Joannie Stangeland is the author of The Scene You See, In Both Hands, and Into the Rumored Spring. She received the 2019 Crosswinds Poetry Journal grand prize, and her poems have also appeared in Boulevard, Prairie Schooner, The Southern Review, and other journals.
Self-Portrait with an Aubade
By Joannie Stangeland
The light must be sheer—Vermeer’s camera obscura
draws early sun, gauze filtered
through green. Leaving shadows’ blue pools,
night’s voices vanish.
Water jug, leaded glass, and ultramarine,
morning streams a sacrament—thin blessing
melts before you swallow. Tension subtle,
serene across the canvas.
Look to the window when day brushes your face,
clean strokes—the care, translucent.
Step into this skin like an artist, a flautist,
a muse. A yellow cup.
Place your eye in the middle.