Jan: A Proem
Jan: A Proem
Take me home
to dirty alligator water,
water moccasin land.
Wear a gold band
with the stone turned into the palm,
an oyster’s pearl
tapping on a wine glass.
Do you know
what my mother would say?
Put the wine bottle down.
Stop crying.
Forgive a Thursday night:
bathroom make-outs,
a fight in cowboy boots,
wanting to undress a color
that only loved me on special occasions.
Pronounce the name
of my parish, its river.
Predict the year of the next flood.
Stop crying.
Cook me a po-boy
with gravy and fries.
*
I keep praying to Mary. I’m looking for fruit in her blue eyes, putting my hands like a prayer in her ice cream. Hail Mary, full of Brooklyn, our diadems are guilty.
*
Home:
where I cried less. Drank less.
Or maybe that’s not
entirely the way it was
but it’s how it feels
in my gut or memory or—
*
What’s so great
about her?
This is the one that broke.
*
It’s easy after this: a lie
I’m telling myself and some other
people and also my mother.
*
When I can’t sleep I think of paper dolls, babies, birds, stars, cotton, backyards, kitchens with garbage disposals, parades with beads, lakes, pools, porches, drive-thru daiquiris, etc. These are all things I suppose I could count but I never feel like quantities of a thing really make anyone feel better, just the thing itself—and usually you just need one.
*
I want to make a pie
in the kitchen
There are peaches
for preserves
I am messy
You won’t kiss
my fingers
sticky reminders
of the hours between
*
As it is, I’m not sure
whether I’m hungry or grieving.
*
Stop crying, I’m telling you.
Comments
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I think I read this three times. It's so RICH. I'm still trying to unpack it like an e.e. cumming's poem or a living room of just-moved-in boxes. I love the frenzy that is going on here. Pardon my endearment, but thank you, my darling for writing this. -- Lauren
ChelseyH3194
I am not really sure how to connect with you, but I was wondering if you could be my mentor, you write wonderfully. -Chelsey
After my first read through this poem I first fell in love with it's uniques structure. I love it! I saw that you are listed as a mentor and would love for you to read the first poem that I have posted. I have written several but have very little confidence in them. My first poem is entitled "How to Help." Thank You!
dannigirl98
I like how the words fold over one another. This poem has aspects everyone can relate to but remains very personal.