She and her hat came over
She crossed her legs in the sun
her sheer hands
in the gloves they love they wear
She came over, smelling of wine
nothing of hers
being yours to accept or decline
————————, she said
and a ship groaned in the boatyards
to the west, heard by a backhoe
its jaw to the ground
and it couldn’t dig its own grave
She was all switchgrass
and began to sway, and
————————, she said
and on came the pollen engine,
the injury machine, tocking
double-time between every tick
Nothing of hers
being yours to accept or decline
she came over
her purse full of codeine,
and cigarettes, and twine
from Charms Against LightningFind it in the library
Copyright © 2012 James Arthur
Used with the permission of The Permissions Company, Inc.
on behalf of Copper Canyon Press.