Here at Black Lawrence Press we are celebrating National Poetry Month with a poem a day, featuring a total of 30 authors from our list. Today’s featured poet is Kristy Bowen, author of girl show.
rope dance
Morning is a burned thing, Louise.
Spoiled like a shuttered house.
Paper everywhere–under the beds,
in the dresser, floating
the pale skin of soup.
You make a cage of your fingers
to keep out light. Chicken bones
to keep out the dead. Grey
where it’s all wearing at the ends.
Your braids still tied in a V
when the dark comes to you like a cat.
A long hallway. A girl in pink
sateen against a backdrop of stars.
When you shut all the latches,
shut your eyes. A little gin, Louise.
Make one turn, then another.
An artist and writer, Kristy Bowen is the author of several books, chapbooks, and zine projects, including the recent girl show (Black Lawrence 2014) and the shared properties of water and stars (Noctuary Press, 2013). She lives in Chicago, where she runs dancing girl press & studio.
