Issue Two - Lisa Manzi
Answer: 367
Question: How many times
would I have been strung
up from a tree,
branded,
shackled,
or burned at the stake
had I been born this woman
two centuries ago?
Observation at Dinner
My work is like your steak:
bloody
rare
beaten tender
marbled with hidden gristle
both necessary and inhumane
and
cut
from a dumb cow.
despite appearances, this is the one thing I never doubt.
Departure
The scent lingers beyond the act.
It evaporates and seals off my walls
leaving behind a constant reminder,
nagging me to live,
to leave this bed
and every man ever been in it.
Slam and lock the doors behind you,
says the mantra to my twisted feet walking.
My last words drop like a spider
from the thread of silk and spit at my lips,
seeping in and spinning out
every pore webbed, contained,
dragging me over
and over my own freshly laid down edges.