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Skeletal Narcissus
by Sarah BrookesSnikkets of bone slide
snipping in flicking halogens
under taught waxpaper skin
(watch my body in makeshift mirrors;
Window, car door, sheet glass, puddle)
So pleasurable to see
bridges of ribs,
flinted caverns,
architecture of flesh...
Radius, tibia, clavicle,
femur.
Gnarled stumps of vertebrae
swellings ridged along spines.
Rocks to pave my grave with,
to dig into your palm.
Swerving in the greasy
guttered light to glimpse a
high and sweeping cheekbone
torn between beauty
and atrocity
slice under sinews
and grizzled muscle.
Every angle perfection
muted, by a muslin sheath.
03/15/2003 Posted on 03/15/2003
Copyright © 2024 Sarah Brookes
| Member Comments on this Poem |
| Posted by Christina Bruno on 03/19/03 at 04:11 PM awesomee...you are so goodd ;D |
| Posted by Kara Hayostek on 03/25/03 at 01:24 AM absolutely *fibulas!*
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| Posted by Richard Paez on 04/24/03 at 12:11 PM I have never thought of myself as having anything remotely akin to necrophiliac tendencies, but after reading this poem, i am feeling decidedly cannibal. what an amazing testament to the beauty that lies beneath human skin. "torn between beauty / and atrocity," it simply can not have been put in a better way. Timing and diction perfect, Sarah. A fascinating piece. I am grave-digger now, my hungers satisfied by this tasty marrow. Thank you for sharing this. Can skeletal hands applaude? {m} |
| Posted by Agnes Eva on 05/09/03 at 04:16 PM i know just what you mean- inner xray vision fascination- the body's basic structural form is so cool. what a rich tapestry of words in your poems! |
| Posted by Angela Stevens on 06/04/11 at 08:17 PM This is truly lovely, geuinely memorable to me. I used to be a member years before and had to look you up. Top notch! |
| Posted by Angela Stevens on 02/14/14 at 03:08 PM Had to re-visit and read this aloud again :) |
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