Poem: Written

Originally published in Ithaca Lit (Summer 2014).  A very difficult yet beloved poem for me, which I worked on for almost a year.

Owl

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Written

it was written.

the holes between the letters

formed small eyes.  looked up.

all that code

soon to reach around the Earth.

parades of happysad tomorrows,

always something fresh.

the phrases would make

their own revisions,

rescript the plot,

fruit the novel’s weight.

it was never

intended to finish in the first place

or specify a start.

now that she had created

the twined characters,

they wrote her back,

were what she was, pulled her

into their expanding personas,

every urge a seed

on an unpredictable trip.

she couldn’t take credit

for the garden the chapters would become. 

it was embodied

before this all began,

had pricked the pace of her will,

unfurled the ardor

of her desperation.

she wanted

to capitalize Love

and reached for the pen in

those final moments,

before the nuances in the ink

nestled into a glisten of skins

to breathe.

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