Friday, May 25, 2012

making dinner

in the back of the mouth
( whose mouth whose mouth )
brushed last night, flossed this morning
rinsed with bright aubergine
i swallowed spines of sea creatures,
made mincemeat twice beat clean.
you hollered from a bedroom
( whose bedroom whose bedroom )
your feet dangling off the frame
my hand dipped this one in motor oil,
this one in vinegar and flame
i whipped dinner, spanked the floor clean
stuck head in the toilet, flush to drain.
in the back of the mouth
( whose mouth whose mouth )
a seed lay popped in an empty gum
two days later the thing erupted
and burnt the skin off my tongue.
lalala, you trilled from the couch
who is so smart now? lalala
i killed the mouse, two hands grip the cow.

maggie may ethridge
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