That fiercely empty
half bed and belly
where a man or child should lie are sharply hollow
and full of secrets.
Too far from the wall, the bed's too wide;
its distance makes my foetal
curl unable to cross
between myself and the destiny bred in my womb.
Girl-woman, turned on herself away
from the bare cold of a night
when the others are burning midnight oil for music,
when even the weight of a guitar on her belly
would be better than nothing at all.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Ice Bridge to America
Middle morning
and swallows are flying
everywhere over water
miraculous in its stillness.
You behind me do not move.
There's a canvas resting behind us, sleeping
at home in the dark
of my closed room, the pause
between the flick and stroke of fingers
and the scrape of charred wood.
You behind me do not move.
and swallows are flying
everywhere over water
miraculous in its stillness.
You behind me do not move.
There's a canvas resting behind us, sleeping
at home in the dark
of my closed room, the pause
between the flick and stroke of fingers
and the scrape of charred wood.
You behind me do not move.
Girl at Myriad
Old pale lace and steam from your tea
combine. What are you writing,
lovely girl with your double-bridged nose;
what language are you learning?
''You know what they say about girls with red shoes,''
an auntie told me once.
If she only saw you.
combine. What are you writing,
lovely girl with your double-bridged nose;
what language are you learning?
''You know what they say about girls with red shoes,''
an auntie told me once.
If she only saw you.
Listening
Think of me
as swallowing all that you say to me.
I will take your words into my open mouth,
taste them,
feel their shapes, sharp and flat as river grass.
I will envelope these blades in my body
and they will be no more.
as swallowing all that you say to me.
I will take your words into my open mouth,
taste them,
feel their shapes, sharp and flat as river grass.
I will envelope these blades in my body
and they will be no more.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Bohmerwald
Even though I miss you, I'm better off missing you
than with you while envisioning
what I thought we could be.
I'm better off with others,
many filters for my fractured
sense of unity.
When your words are barbed wire,
and your skin is too distant to touch,
and the skin of your arm is this cool,
and your eyes are cold,
and your voice is invulnerably male,
I crave the middle distance
of a day without you.
In the fragile middle distance
of a room behind closed doors, I listen in
to conversations
when you don't know I'm there,
or when you've overlooked my presence
like so many times before.
On your way home late this evening,
I'll be singing under water.
As you wander in the darkness
I'll be passing through the glossy wooden
than with you while envisioning
what I thought we could be.
I'm better off with others,
many filters for my fractured
sense of unity.
When your words are barbed wire,
and your skin is too distant to touch,
and the skin of your arm is this cool,
and your eyes are cold,
and your voice is invulnerably male,
I crave the middle distance
of a day without you.
In the fragile middle distance
of a room behind closed doors, I listen in
to conversations
when you don't know I'm there,
or when you've overlooked my presence
like so many times before.
On your way home late this evening,
I'll be singing under water.
As you wander in the darkness
I'll be passing through the glossy wooden
hall. You turn the handle
of our heavy wooden door,
but I'm already sunk in shadows
in the green room, Bohmerwald.
Behind the forest's door,
the middle distance calls.
of our heavy wooden door,
but I'm already sunk in shadows
in the green room, Bohmerwald.
Behind the forest's door,
the middle distance calls.
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