I thought of fish scales & drops
of war like a line of spiders
You leave marks in
the dirt & that’s my pattern, ants
swarming a cut potato
They say joy
They say banish the foreign night
choked by childish branches
The wedding of war & a thatched roof
Take off your acorn hat
Children pop
out of boxes like lanterns released
Soldiers bury lemon buds, “Have you
seen a muzzle on a bull? What I use
as my design?”
They say carve your potato to stamp
the envelope’s white forearm
The pattern of a marriage
procession: hooves, hairpins, mud
meshed to scalp, motoring
They say children fall instantly
into use
Condense our lives inside
a single lemon
Seeds scatter on a feather
The weft you attach to foreheads
Julia Cohen is the author of Triggermoon Triggermoon (Black Lawrence Press, 2011) and her work appears in places like Colorado Review, New American Writing, Kenyon Review Online, and Octopus Magazine.
[...] Julia Cohen at Phoebe [...]
Jeez, Julia. Such heartfelt, textured echoing work. It was such a pleasure and surprise when this got forwarded on to us. We send love,
Richard
[...] Cohen: You’ll See My Design Inside a Lemon Adam Day: Driving Home Through Virginia Josh Fomon: Swampmeat Emily Kendal Frey: from SORROW ARROW [...]