Current :: Arlene Ang
I'm caught deep in the dye of her
after Anne Sexton
What separates us is a page.
I turn it,
and read little white pills
between the lines,
her rotund o's have spaces.
These are the nooses
around my neck.
I am stained
by lipstick a transvestite
threw at me.
My fingers shake against
my mouth. The frozen goods section
will never be the same.
Cigarette burns are forever,
like diamonds.
Go ahead. Rinse that sleeve.
It's the desire to be clean
that counts. The dead dog
across the street
is her making.
Sometimes her stiletto heels
tap with affection,
sometimes walls close in
like her failing heart.
The sink fills quickly.
Madder appears gaudy
against porcelain. Then
I catch my husband
admiring her poems in bed.
He switches the night lamp off,
turns towards the wall.
My body bloats with shadows,
and it's one gray pill
after another.
Arlene Ang lives in Venice, Italy where she edits the Italian edition of Niederngasse. Her poetry has been published in Envoi, The Pedestal, Rattle, Smiths Knoll and Poetry Ireland. Her first full collection of poetry, The Desecration of Doves is available through Amazon and Barnes&Noble. Website: http://www.leafscape.org/aang
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Copyright 1999-2008 Arlene Ang.