Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, EYE-SHAPED, MOUTH-SHAPED, by MARGARET AHO


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

EYE-SHAPED, MOUTH-SHAPED, by                    
First Line: Slot / between the fifth and sixth


slot

between the fifth and sixth

ribs, its scourged

lids/lips

probed

by Caravaggio, up to the first

knuckle, dis-

believing . . . But say you plunge in

two, three, wedge in four

fingers, say

its almond-shape admits

your unopposable

thumb, your

avid

wrist. Say your whole hand, having

entered,

grasps a complex

clapping . . . As if a set

of castanets

were at the heart, here

and improvising

something

hot

and catchy, full

of longing . . . Say your own heart

catches on, catches

fire, starts

clapping back: a burning

conversation

heart to heart. Say this

is death, this

in your face

flamen-

co

eye to eye, mouth to mouth. Clap

clap . . . Your heels

begin to stutter. Please

no

words. Put a rose between your

teeth:

this is life.

Copyright © Margaret Aho.






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