And what to do
with those nails—I won’t bite
anything that close
to the foundation. Wouldn’t want
that from you. Or
to name you precious
sculpture. We both could stand
to move to the sound
of our own banging hearts.
Poetry
Friday Propels
Rain to bring on the heat, beer
to jump start a government
shut down. I could disappear
behind this digital self
portrait that turned out too dark.
Could take another
image to protect myself
from those gray areas—but I like
this shadow kissing my cheek.
Homophone
She sounds like
someone else. Looks different. Philosophies
of life in bas-relief—
especially death. Can you fingerprint
a voice? The deeper
it goes, the more I listen
for other songbirds
gliding across plains.
Humiture
Government shuts down,
mercury goes up,
power goes out,
everyone goes into
their non-virtual silos
of thought. Now more than ever—poetry
and its unbreakable circuits.
Sweat is sweeter
when following these lines.
Wrapper
Yarn taggers and their measured
screams along the overpass
wake me before dawn. Or it’s the siren
again. Leftover fireworks, a dumpster diver
slams the lid, not gun
shots. I just imagine the drama
unfolding in a half-spun, sticky
dream. Fences maybe, definitely not brick
walls. Where are the vocal chords, where
does the air get through? No
the end. What’s next? Someone high
on bath salts. What a way to go.
Lost in Circulation
Pronunciation stiff
from disuse. Fear cracked
and chipped from the antonym. My tone
reveals a humidity
no rain could cure. Too close
for comfort she’ll say. I won’t say a word
as I inhale her breath
from an open window.
Air-conditioning would seal
the hermit in me for good
(and for bad).
Polka Dotted Umbrella
A life littered, no
clean slates on the mall
for her to slide through. That hole
in your drapes no longer
fools anyone—not even her. She’s more
interested in blinds
that camouflage what sticks
to the pane.
Oral Savior
Shakes my hand
for choosing to walk
right past that survival
sign. No longer a tobacco
stained talker, I just smile
my way toward prevailing bluffs.
Raw Evaporation
Those fears are no
shows. Disappointment comes
in all shades of red
strained through gray. A night free
of summer’s oppression. Without
sweat, she swears
she can differentiate
between a music
town and one impurely industry.
Personal Hydraulics
She drinks more
water to open
her mind. This ache
in her shin won’t inform
a drought. Walk up
another hill before the next
rain storm floods these leftover
rivulets. She whispers. A reminder
to self could be just the explosion
her neighbors need to see
the truth about sound
beneath a quarter moon.
Night & Day Poems of Amy Nash 