Wednesday, June 16, 2021

new from above/ground press: Retrofit Me, by Alyssa Bridgman

Retrofit Me
Alyssa Bridgman
$5


Towers

the physics of towers always baffled me
glass and steel—all windows—all sides

poplars in the breeze bend but don’t break
each branch knows exactly where to go

geometry in all things reflected—except perhaps
in the jagged shard of a piece of glass turned

light means nothing to eyes that remain dark—
looking inwards always and never out

but this natural math doesn’t work when you’re
counting calories and the mirror adds ten pounds

we are consumers in all that we do for ourselves
covetous eyes greedy for that new piece of metal

no concept of cost or what was lost in the hurried
rushing from A to B and so on and so forth

algorithm—I always thought it was spelled
rhythm like a song danced out in numbers

these figures ripple in the sun glinting blind
and we look down to see the sky in reflections

published in Ottawa by above/ground press
June 2021
a/g subscribers receive a complimentary copy


Cover illustration/design: Alec Bridgman

Alyssa Bridgman is a Vancouver based poet who lives on the unceded territories of the Kwikwetlem, Tsleil-Waututh, Katzie, Musqueam, Squamish, Quay Quayt, and Sto:lo First Nations. She has recently completed her MA in English literature at Simon Fraser University and has a particular interest in local ecological poetry. Her first chapbook, Hedge, was published by above/ground press in 2017.

To order, send cheques (add $1 for postage; in US, add $2; outside North America, add $5) to: rob mclennan, 2423 Alta Vista Drive, Ottawa ON K1H 7M9. E-transfer or PayPal at rob_mclennan (at) hotmail.com or the PayPal button at www.robmclennan.blogspot.com

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