I have one hundred years
of sleep in me
one hundred years spent sitting with the moon
at the bottom of a black river
while I slept
the moon circled my arms
and showed me that
my emptiness
came from having edges
now I imagine myself
as the cold black eyes of the river
passing through bruised shoulders
passing through
a mind made of fire, cement,
and unsent letters
passing through hallways of veins
where a family still lives
with a mother who falls asleep
in front of the TV every afternoon
and every night
and a father who smiles
when he cries
the river fills the body
so that for once what is on the inside
is the same as what is on
the outside
so that it is no longer a body
but the sky unfolding
the slow breath of night
2 responses so far ↓
1 Liz // Apr 2, 2008 at 12:51 am
Natalie-
shucks gee… i really like this one, and i know i do because it has come back to me at different random times over the past week or two. Not the exactness of the poem but the whole feel of it, which really stikes in those first 4 lines. FUCK its good. I always felt the same about that old “doll face” poem of yours. anyways there are two places where i am yanked out of the other world you pull me into… the first place is where you say “my emptness came from having edges” both emptyness and “having edges” are too vauge, and coupled together it is really vauge… i hate to sound terrible but it reminds me of something one might say when they are feeling minunderstood in highschool, and yet its not quite that bad, and it could be interesting i am just not there yet. The other part i have a hard time with is “hallways of viens” i get it, its just that it sounds like the poet is trying too hard, like you really want that idea and yet it just doesn’t jive with the tone of the poem for me…. i dont know why and maybe it is that the rythum of “hallways of veins” is also a little awkward. its really good though and its good to hear your poetry voice again.
2 Mister Baldwin // Apr 16, 2008 at 4:40 pm
Natalie-
The two lines that bothered Liz did not at all bother me.
Nice poem.
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