Pearl Pirie
$4
that shed snakeskin in display case thru 13 homes together.
garter snake lifespan: 2 years in the wild and 6 to 10 years in captivity
existed under your thumb, swam all nerves to that stroke
was silk flared from the pinch, pulled thru a ring, am smoke.
frost-slapped cheeks applied via Avon, ‘talk to him’ you instructed,
rub his hands, keep him with us. (we never had touched.)
sanguine sans glum, stand-up, wipe sebum, beach bum,
I've been dead to you for 4 changes of addresses.
the exponential decay. scapolite turns yellow under black light.
press the button for glow over and over.
duckie, you are wedged inside my defenses causing a short.
rest. head on my chest. breath’s the centre of all the best dervishes.
*
published in Ottawa by above/ground press
March 2014
a/g subscribers receive a complimentary copy
Pearl Pirie has a few chapbooks, a micro press, several blogs, a gig as literary radio host and irregular gigs to teach poetry. She has two poetry collections, and a third forthcoming with BookThug in 2015. None of these poems are in them so you have to buy them both.
This is Pearl Pirie’s fourth above/ground press publication and second chapbook, after oath in the boathouse (2008).
The author wishes to thank the City of Ottawa for a grant in 2012.
Produced, in part, as a handout for the Buffalo Small Press Book Fair, Buffalo NY, April 5-6, 2014. Thanks much to Chris Fritton for his help and support.
To order, send cheques (add $1 for postage; outside Canada, add $2) to: rob mclennan, 2423 Alta Vista Drive, Ottawa ON K1H 7M9 or paypal at www.robmclennan.blogspot.com
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