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THE LIFE OF THE BODY
1. An evening. A reading. It took me a while to leave the house I had to wait for the house–sat cat to die in her secret life and come home (" ") At the reading someone is reading they are giving away headache wine imagery of garden–backs and animal hands in the poetry quite a few faces on fire in here or just the lips lipsticked I go to dinner with a crush of stranger–professionals I like them all too much and right away we eat Masala til it makes our cells soft bright cheeks bright purse of too much spent in laughing give away the lips in their grease–gloss watch the teeth they bite black pearls of want inside the body rising now to the skin I see you watching them, doctor Yes, to after I say in my head of heads The new music is loud in an old way What we have to say we say over it we strain I buy him he buys me he buys he he buys me we lose track lets go home (" ") I say, but I stay under I lose my nerve My boots are plastic I dance in them but my hands, my arms some kind of chipmunk–snake I had forgot is free is in me 2. I want us to keep talking someone had said You should know who It was you on the phone your voice a pair of scissors that couldn't cut a straight line Home was someone else's black and gold for a bedspread this is where I slept awhile thinking of anyone any one might do instead of you I tried on all the clothes that weren't mine If they were black they let the cold in at the spine If they were gold they never fit they caught at the neck goodbye is odd–sized and no one came and let their fingers get caught in my borrowed zip The mattress / Poetry Shelf
The kids / Exostale: Chrestomathy First loss / Tuesday Poem They could have stayed forever / Tuesday Poem Bookcase full of closed books wants to sing / Tuesday Poem Man in space talks to the stars / Tuesday Poem Young woman talking to a difficult poem she has loved for many years / Best New Zealand Poems 2011 Theory of light / Best New Zealand Poems 2008 Carpet talking to the mother's feet / Turbine 2010 Lake and On the role of the master / Turbine 2009 Fingernails / Snorkel #11 Mount Cook / Snorkel #9 Makara / Sport 28 Two dreams in which things are taken / Duets chapbook series |
