MACKENZIE CARIGNAN

METAPHORS FOR MISCARRIAGE

2

METAPHORS

FOR

MISCARRIAGE

MACKENZIE CARIGNAN

3

COVER ART FOR THIS CHAPBOOK IS A REPRODUCTION OF A WATERCOLORBY MACKENZIE CARIGNAN”S 4 YEAR OLD SON, ELIOT PONTARELLI.

CR79 Books/Defeffablewww.defeffable.org

Elizabeth Bryant, editor

© MACKENZIE CARIGNAN 2008

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CONTENTS

my wound is a simmering punctuation mark 5

born is the cleanest foliage 6

distraction is the blankest shape 7

the stone is now my wall 8

this leak is an everlasting stain 9

how category becomes a distant bird 10

something lost is the greatest evidence of “had” 11

house is a cage for sleep 12

drain has become a worthy depth 13

the next is evidence of been 14

5

my wound is a simmering punctuation mark

saltthat left you wondering about what kindling

gashdoes it to smile, that you though, maybe, in the sunken morning

scriptor the scripted undone. there’s nothing quite as precious as mud

ifyou could crawl and speak simultaneously, you would carry a heavy weight

scrollthough the way you abdicate is linear and accessory

flagas if you loved looking at me

baybut would you swim with only jellyfish?

thornin the place you thought was safe. punctured and blew

6

born is the cleanest foliage

eggcannot be likened to a tree

bowlis a bottomless tree

nestis a tapestry

deadbut the tree still stands

leafis not evidence of a tree

eggwas there but happened too quickly

bowlto the face on a pivotal hinge

nestflew into tornado and glass

deadbalance the march innuendo

leafis my desperate, quaking plant

7

distraction is the blankest shape

trianglecharacter style fast menu

squaretwice alive not wearing monster

lineeyebrows quick like symptoms dire

pointgiven fireball is the collar of good

trianglerecognize in the water on the sidewalk

squareis the jar in the mirror two and four

linefrom the shadow the trail leaves tracks

pointyou welcome the flavor before it's gone

8

the stone now is my wall

pebbleslong eyes tread with speckles to you

quarryglance or is it already expired? glance

mineralshe bought her a crystal with the greatest intentions

boulderflock of spite, bitter to land and be covered with stain

gravelmissing the mountains, the significance of graves

siltit is clay, she recommends, with the utmost of certainty

sandor salt, or chalk, or sparkling liquid capable of shine

storyyou cannot begin to tell

fenceit is the rocks that keep me honest

9

this leak is an everlasting stain

holebut no, it doesn't have sides or a bottom

organmore like wing than spleen

cancerthe tumor is the presence, not the absence

polyplooking like an eyeball and focusing

intestineand all of its exchanges

ovarywhen you imagine grapes. again eyes

absorptionwhere do the puddles go? wash

10

how category becomes a distant bird

graphlike a precipice and ridge

spiralnot your complicated replication

apologythe tendency of fluid to move to the area of least pressure

nickelso smooth in his hand. questions about the sky

hebigger than the universe and arms

graphrise beyond the paper

ifyou could have held that single, multiplying cell in your hand

carnagewho knew it could be so minute?

11

something lost is the greatest evidence of “had”

playsand sticks in layers landscape his arm

gougethat grammar will never reach you. form

hillstimulate the seedlings, starlings, sterling dress

imaginebeautiful triangular ships arriving

imaginethat you might have multiplied and burrowed

imaginethe wood without the water. parched

bringhis significance is blinding. even his own sadness

12

house is a cage for sleep

bagof envelope to deliver your woven guise

satchelthe laugh to tie the long-awaited kiss. evaporate

sheetwrapped your arms which came to mean early light

gestureto you who will never have eyes

slingher chaffed skin refused to be moisturized

ligamentbrazen chest of your disappearance

longingto find my own pulse again

petrifiedhe doesn't believe the world was ever wood

13

drain has become a worthy depth

bankcrested bottom of wing in flight

evaporateleaving only ground and saturate

soakher destain for linen is in proportion to the size of the window

threeleft her wondering about where the overgrowth has infested

cagefeeling an avalanche between my hips

longit was the morning that brought the splatter

twodistinct shapes of oblong thirst

countingpast the day of cave-in and demolition

14

the next is what evidence of been

planthow gently the roots and systems grow

placeyourself too far from my reach

youare newly burrowed and not yet gone away

howdo I forget how everything collapsed? bowl

synthesisthe movement I see when my eyes are focused on black

newhow did you come back and rest so comfortably in a cage for sleep?

newsystem to create systems. how complicated the flow

newit is not an erasure. giant weight of your growth

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PUBLISHED BY

FOR THE DUSIE KOLLEKTIV #3

CR79 Books/Defeffablewww.defeffable.org