USAGE
‘On the nose’ means obvious
like drought, like fire.
It’s often preceded
by “a bit.”
“That’s a bit
on the nose,
isn’t it?
*
This little girl
Is “looked after”
and looked at. Her look
reflects
awareness of this
and a wide-eyed mock-
amazement
we read as intelligence.
*
‘Convoluted’
means hard to follow,
unnecessarily complicated,
like a stream
winding through marshland’s
rough grass,
difficult to swallow.
EXPLORERS
Sleeping Beauty:
Of course, the cursed antiquity, the “spinning wheel,” is poorly concealed instead of being destroyed. Of course, the girl, who is bored, will explore the unused portions of the castle.
She is looking for a way out, though she may not know it. Of course, she puts her finger to
the point of the needle—which is still sharp—that’s how narrative works. The next part may surprise you, if you are new to this world. A drug smeared on the needle knocks her out cold, into a coma, until she can be married off.
Eve:
The only woman born of man, Eve was a clone. Of course, she didn’t know that yet. She knew her “father” preferred her brother, maybe because he came first—though that didn’t seem like much of a reason. Bored, she wandered off. That’s when she met the snake. Who wouldn’t speak to a talking snake? It told her about the fruit with the jewel-like seeds it had found and she tried one. In a different story, Eve is called Persephone and the seed means she has to stay where she is, put down roots. In our story, though, it means she has to go. She and her clone, Adam, have to leave the compound Outside they find a barren, sparsely populated world. Adam stays close to the gate, hoping to sneak back in. Eve wanders, spreading the custom of exogamy, meaning “Don’t marry your brother,” wherever she goes. To this day, she gets no credit.
ANCIENT ALIEN
1
Each animal
as answer
to a forgotten
question.
2
What looks
like a map
of canals
on my face
is really
a record
of ancient
grimaces.
3
White clam shells
on stiff stork legs
are chairs.
