Mist Cultures

Stadia

American Literary Scholarship

Eviscerate, Display

crush this structure and get seeds,
the start of an overture
to landlord Felidae,
leaking traits for orange and white
pigment
that looks good on Jenny’s walls,
or under spoilt cartons,

accentuating remorse
like the fibrous texture
of days spent under eaves,
watching children and wasted brahmins
play football in the red, wet road.

you said your first film was vertical,
the next one, lateral.

Steric Strain at Bay, or the Crimes of Isadore Tassy

He lay about the garden in bathrobe, remote.

His cousin Chloe is removing every third Cleome
to prevent overcrowding.

The remaining two in each group overlap,
creating an impression of antagonism where legs cross.

She waves a fan rhythmically to and fro,
watching with each gust the chaotic cellulose duel.

Late Sacrifice

On seeing a fox to pith, hold
back.

Red fur- consider this favor-
can steady a hand’s
crooked lineage.

If the child is near mint
No longer,
Put pins to another

Vain inhabitant
in league with the cooks
and ladies
of your estate.

Cantilevered

His valise had been misplaced at Tom Ridge Field. Another picked it up, lifting it to shoulder height to inspect the handle and lock. Making change, he buys a single-dose packet of aspirin at the kiosk, consumes the chalky tablets without water, feeling the phantom protuberance in his throat minutes thereafter.

The other climbs on a staircase to view things from above. He lets slip the jacket from his shoulders to dangle from the railing. Loosening his joints, he wants to perform some maneuver and impress himself upon the golden, numerical seal.

The first one senses his property endangered, but the impulses are not permitted to coalesce. He is far too giddy, sits on a nearby stool. The man behind the counter deploys attention. “We are going to give you something for your condition. We are going to feed you diaphanous lamb.”