ship
of dreams
susan smith nash
the
gods are happy
the
hook snagged my mouth
the
side I use for confession.
my
heart flopping on the deck,
my
eyes desiccating quickly
we
both know the hot sun admits no tears
salt
preserves all too well
the
mortality I try so hard to disavow
but
the body still leads, the heart still searches
that
mirror was not a door
it
was not a portal to the infinite
it
hid the hook I held in my own flesh
the
taste of blood
brings
me back
I
see myself flopping on this slippery surface
tangling
myself in my own lines
here
on this new ship where the gods reeled me in
Citizens
of Limbo
we
take our place &
I
wear down gracefully (I think)
one
eye fixed on the sky above
the
other glued fast to the deck
january 14, 2000