............
.........The Poetry Of.
.................. Emily Clarice Harriman
................
................
................ Escape
.............
............. Lilypads
............. are the place
............. where a
............. flower sits
............. and suns
.............
............. and Matterhorn
............. is a height
............. I'll never scale, but often
............. in my mind, just after
............. lunch
.............
............. I find
............. such places-
.............
............. not an
............. office chair
............. at
............. all, I swivel in
............. silk
............. on the back
............. of an elephant, beneath my
............. shy girl veil
............. the
............. incandescents
............. dim,
............. doze,
............. the ears
............. will petal
............. shut and for the space of
............. breath
.............
............. my face
............. is like a
............. lotus.
.............
..............
..............
..............
..............
.............. Small
..............
.............. I have a
.............. small
.............. persona
..............
.............. a hand towel
.............. rather
.............. than thirsty, terry
.............. bath size.
.............. You would
.............. miss me
.............. if you passed me
.............. on the street:
.............. I have
.............. a parking meter
.............. sameness
..............
.............. mousy
.............. brown
.............. and mid-length
.............. hair
.............. do; don't
.............. ever say it's honey, no,
.............. it's
.............. undecided
.............. saint. A sinner's
.............. blonde; at least, a
.............. blonde will have
.............. the means
.............. to sin
..............
.............. even ugly ones
.............. are noticed.
..............
.............. The one
.............. adrenaline
.............. thing I have
.............. I cover
.............. in jeans: a heart-shaped
.............. rear that rosys up
.............. just like a valentine
.............. when shown
.............. a palm come down
.............. a time
.............. or two
..............
.............. but nothing
.............. since I was
.............. six and told my mother
.............. I found my father's
.............. box of ladies hidden
.............. under the bed
.............. beneath
.............. some cardboard
.............. under
.............. Bostonians, staid
.............. as staid could be. My mother's
.............. another
.............. brunetted nondescript.
..............
.............. Had me
.............. show her
.............. all the brazen
.............. Veronica Lakes
.............. and Dagmar, Marilyn wannabes
.............. except for Mitzi Gaynor
.............. who looked wholesome. So
.............. of all the girls,
.............. she taped a note
.............. to her: I found
.............. your whores, you bastard.
..............
.............. That was the day
.............. I knew I'd always
.............. carry her pain, so I became
.............. a Mitzi Gaynor, sour ball
.............. in my mouth
..............
.............. and I remain
.............. my mother's mouse
.............. so very small, and
.............. bland and
.............. sweet
..............
.............. my ass
.............. a well-kept
.............. secret.
..............
..............
..............
..............
..............
.............. Hardtack
..............
.............. Teeth
.............. grind
.............. nightly, never
.............. knowing
..............
.............. what angers
.............. hurts or
.............. flour and salt
.............. have made the bread
.............. they chew on,
.............. only
..............
.............. that it's leavened
.............. with something
.............. makes it
..............
.............. rise
.............. and rise
.............. again.
..............
..............
............
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