I

Today I dissected a squid,
the late acacia tossing its pollen
across the black of the lab bench.
In a few months the maples  
will be bleeding. That was the thing:  
there was no blood
only textures of gills creased like satin,  
suction cups as planets in rows. Be careful
not to cut your finger, he says. But I’m thinking
of fingertips on my lover’s neck  
last June. Amazing, hearts.
This brachial heart. After class,
I stole one from the formaldehyde
& watched it bloom in my bathroom sink
between cubes of ice.


                               II

Last night I threw my lab coat in the fire  
& drove all night through the Arizona desert  
with a thermos full of silver tequila.

It was the last of what we bought  
on our way back from Guadalajara—
desert wind in the mouth, your mother’s  
beat-up Honda, agaves  
twisting up from the soil
like the limbs of cephalopods.

Outside of Tucson, saguaros so lovely
considering the cold, & the fact that you  
weren’t there to warm me.
Suddenly drunk I was shouting that I wanted to see the stars  
as my ancestors used to see them—

to see the godawful blue as Aurvandil’s frostbitten toe.


                               III

Then, there is the astronomer’s wife  
ascending stairs to her bed.

The astronomer gazes out,  
one eye at a time,

to a sky that expands  
even as it falls apart

like a paper boat dissolving in bilge.
Furious, fuming stars.

When his migraine builds &
lodges its dark anchor behind

the eyes, he fastens the wooden buttons
of his jacket, & walks

outside with a flashlight
to keep company with the barn owl  

who stares back at him with eyes
that are no greater or less than

a spiral galaxy.
The snow outside

is white & quiet
as a woman’s slip

against cracked floorboards.
So he walks to the house

inflamed by moonlight, & slips
into the bed with his wife  

her hair & arms all
in disarray

like fish confused by waves.


                               IV

Science—

beyond pheromones, hormones, aesthetics of bone,
every time I make love for love’s sake alone,

I betray you.

(via)

1. rasceta liked this
2. aflorall liked this
3. adesideratum liked this
4. mulberryalliance liked this
5. likeanemptyocean liked this
6. pantherhooves liked this
7. flourhoneyandmilk reblogged this from sharingpoetry
8. loquela liked this
9. alaskanhoney liked this
10. sailor-knot-forever reblogged this from peramor
11. sailor-knot-forever liked this
12. s-uzana liked this
13. yuri-slut-and-a-beech liked this
14. peramor reblogged this from cheaptalkin
15. beginningtosee reblogged this from loveyourchaos
16. mindpop-ups reblogged this from ishelpartdeux
17. lightningride reblogged this from yunzi
18. thedelusionaldreamer liked this
19. ishelpartdeux reblogged this from loveyourchaos
20. the-funeral-party reblogged this from whisperinadeadmansear
21. calciferthedemon liked this
22. monstrecharmant liked this
23. gabunny reblogged this from beautifail
24. 900408 liked this
25. riddleinthesky reblogged this from loveyourchaos
26. tuoksu liked this
27. misha-pilsudski liked this
28. exsouvenir liked this
29. mushrambo liked this
30. mushrambo reblogged this from the-final-sentence
31. the-eleganceofdoggystyle reblogged this from loveyourchaos
32. subtletendency reblogged this from leopoldgursky
33. wahoolooze liked this
34. palpina liked this
35. almostglamorous reblogged this from yesmeansyes
36. yesmeansyes reblogged this from eatsleepbreathetv
37. grimmstale liked this
38. orionorah reblogged this from emdashesandhyphens
39. orionorah liked this
40. retrospectivethinking liked this
41. kindred-spirits liked this
42. oceanoffear reblogged this from sharingpoetry
43. fairylocks reblogged this from the-final-sentence
44. saramariee reblogged this from loveyourchaos
45. whisperingwordsofwisdom reblogged this from eightypercentwater
46. andrasteluna reblogged this from sharingpoetry
47. beingblackandwhite liked this
48. pooooge liked this
49. twelfththirteen reblogged this from the-final-sentence
50. zhix reblogged this from the-final-sentence
51. Show more notesLoading...