Poetry
Why The Faith-Healer’s Granddaughter Gave Up On Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
by Marie C. Jones lover I kiss the pulse pains in your wrists deep knots
of muscles sinews tendons press across over-stretched
violin strings to draw forth the music Mozart sweated
on his deathbed you say you found some religion
are considering worship of the scalpel I close my eyes
armored carps swim slow circles I will November
a cold lethargy a deep burrowing into the soft bottom mud
but the green arrows of pikes still zing
between water-lily stalks pain’s little fishes
keep nuzzling wide awake and playful
pray you don’t have it my mother said her lips thin metal
like a zipped zipper thirty-three years later one person
for each of those years can still stand up to witness
in the name of Jesus Christ how the widow
dewed relief over their charred skins erased
the sprains and the bruises the cuts shingles
migraines three months’ worth of pregnant puking
but of course where did all that pain go despite entropy
the decaying rate of the universe remains a constant
faint glow she did not have any place to dump it recycle
it like glass jars and last week’s news could not burn
it in the old-fashioned hearth like greasy butcher paper
feed it to the hog compost it sell it back she had to keep
it hoard it she had coffee every afternoon with Jesus Christ
(sugar and a cloud of milk, please-what a lovely boy
and so well behaved) beads tea-leaf readings
weekly conversations with the Mother of God
one day she picked up firebrands
with rusty tongs dropped them on her bed
the kitchen table in the linen closet they found
her in the garden harvesting sorrel for soup
More poetry from Issue 10
Poetry Archives
Daniel John: Midden Josh Cook: I See Rissa in Doodles and Fingernails Jonathan Ponder: Villanelle for the San Bernardino Valley Randy Boone: Seven Various Powders from a Distant Asian Land Jonathan Barrett: Bones, Singing Gods, and the Felt Meadows John Marvin: An Electric Galleria of Earthly Delights Stephen Pyle: On the duties of being carbon Brad Maxfield: Easter In Guayaquil Randy Koch: Metamorphosis C. Rohrbacher: Dreamers Are Gluttons Sean Lause: Lynndie England is the daughter we always wanted P. J. Stanskas: A Scientific Analysis of the Jerry Springer Phenomenon in Popular Television Culture David Musgrove: Fucking Death Without a Condom Alba Cruz-Hacker: Dissident Verses Maureen A. Sherbondy: Froth Kenneth DiMaggio: Poem #1 From The Book Of The Fearless Age Of The American Automobile Emily Scudder: Cremations Virgil Suarez: Doña Inez Remembers the Ravages of Hurricane Flora Barbara Duffey: On the Occasion of My Sister’s Fall from Her Horse Kevin Roddy: La Desaparecida James Grinwis: Greenland Frost Camel Abraham Burickson: Paper House for a Better Thief William Doreski: The Gnostics Were Right Roibeard Ui-Neill: Spurious Pursuits Alexander Chertok: Snowfall, Route 81, December Elizabeth Hopp: Gaza E. R. Carlin: Back County Queen Chris Crittenden: Desert Mary Copeland: Peaches Jonathan Sismesmal: The Insect’s Valuable Touch Michael Gregg Michaud: How to Be a Gay Literary Icon Penny Perry: Polliwogs Jonathan Ponder: Time Flowering Among Rocks Lyn Stefenhagens: The Contortionist Neil Gabriel Kozlowicz: Working Produce Bob Carlton: Creation: Yet Another Version Nicole Lynskey: Regrets Nancy Berg: Cocooning Randy Boone: T-Shirt Michael McManus: Born Again Todd Raboy: Revolution Richard Autio: untitled Askold Skalaski: Busting and Booming in Bratislava Danielle Meitle: The Third Garden Max Berkovitz: A Chicago Day, Long Ago Charles D. Moskus: Night Drive Tom Edison: Pragmatic Magic A. Razor: San Bernardino Anne Babson: California Doug Shy: Upon Don Agustin's Leaving Durango, Mexico 1894 P.J. Stanskas: Advice to a Friend on the Edge of Divorce Jessica Fox: Going Down on the English Language Lori Davis: How to Relax While Making Love Shoshauna Shy: An -, without; + orexis, appetite Jessica Maich: Stars as Slipper B.Z. Niditch: Missing Person Rachel Squires Bloom: Exercise Bike Jonathan Levant: What Was That Cover Letter For? Robert Schuler: Sufi Music Andrew Bode-Lang: Our Hard-Scrabble Life on The Land Naomi Ruth Lowinsky: At the Center for Breast Imaging Nancy A. Henry: Men I’ve Dated in Random Order