PHANTOM LIMBS

My '83 Gremlin flew
off the freeway
and rolled 900 degrees.
When my car-door cut through me,
my legs must have walked away.
Like spirits that rise
at the moment of death,
my legs rose
and got out of that mess.
Yesterday my calves ached
like I was wading
in the ocean, salted cold.
This morning I felt my legs blush
shy, from the sun's
hot eyes. And now
I feel your warm, wet kisses
up and down my shins
and thighs, though I'm alone,
though your body
has not yet been found.

s h i r a   r i c h m a n
s e a t t l e,   w a s h i n g t o n

margin home | contents | links | reading list | marginalia | contributors | staff | guidelines | kudos | subscriptions | contact us

Want to know about UPDATES and NEW ADDITIONS to MARGIN?
Try our - S P A M L E S S - opt-in subscription
It's absolutely free!

Layout, design & revisions © Tamara Kaye Sellman, Webmaster
Active home URL: http://www.magical-realism.com
(also: https://www.angelfire.com/wa2/margin/index. html)

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

TERMS OF USE: This site contains copyrighted materials, including but not limited to text and graphics. You may not use, copy, publish, upload, download, post to a bulletin board, include in any weblog or otherwise transmit, distribute or modify any elements of this site in any way, except that you may download one copy of such contents on any single computer for your own personal, non-commercial use, provided you do not alter or remove any copyright, author attribution or other proprietary notices.

Rev'd 2005/12/07