What do you eat when
you’re not in love?
stones
river mud
salted straw
still I don’t grow
lean
Stacked
I have a deck
and every card
is the Queen
of Hearts. I deal
my own hand
on the bedspread
solitaire
every face up
card is her
and every back
your hair.
Cybernetic Reification
control through feedback
-your mother-
turn into a thing
spittoon crankcase bag jug
overshoot and undershoot
bitchgoddess pantywaist
give it a name whore
A “use of force” incident
S. told the guard she had been hit with a chair.
(A woman would be a victim of rape…)
The guard returned to the topic at hand.
(if she had sexual intercourse with a person
who was not her spouse…) “He had me down
on my left side, bent over.” (by force;
or by threat of force…) His rings cut S.’s face
and blood spurted (that would prevent resistance
by a person of reasonable resolution…) onto
the floor (or when she was unconscious;…)
and table; S. had a history of ‘fast racing thoughts
and trouble sleeping.’ “She was a very quiet
person. When you used to give her things,
she used to clap her hands, like a little child.”
(or if she was so mentally ill and/or incompetent…)
The next morning the floor was still wet
with S.’s blood (that she was not capable
of consent.) when prisoners cleaned the day room.
Beat
I must see three battered children
newly placed in foster care.
One is scarred.
The others’ wounds
internal.
Not seen but
bona fide.
How much can be
concealed.
Brittle
angels in the mirror
looking at me
angels in the mirror
I can’t see
angels smiling at me
with a laugh
angels glitter at me
breaking glass
look at smoke around me
look wordless
disbelieving angels
look so blessed
seek relief my angels
rose to be
angels in my mirror
laugh with me
angels in my mirror
watching me
angels without voices
breaking free
angels in the ashes
suddenly
glitter little angels
sing to me
glitter little angels
almost done
turn it to the wall
oblivion
put away the pieces
let me be
angels fly around me
set them free
angels left the mirror
just for me
by Kelley White (c) 2002
([email]kelleywhitemd [at] yahoo [dot] com[/email])
