Rachel Custer
2 Poems
Testimonial
This, the day after
tornadoes dreaming the land into new instincts
you saw that buzzard pick gristle from its hair
tidbits of empire
make of this Chevy an altar
little plasticated
miracles we quicken for
the trouble is, it’s unproved rock
your mother says
why don’t you stop while you’re ahead
as if anybody plays the vertebrae
anymore
tornadoes dreaming the land into new instincts
you saw that buzzard pick gristle from its hair
tidbits of empire
make of this Chevy an altar
little plasticated
miracles we quicken for
the trouble is, it’s unproved rock
your mother says
why don’t you stop while you’re ahead
as if anybody plays the vertebrae
anymore
Softly Spoken
saw a little girl lying in sunlight
saw good farmland
yawning before you like a parable
This is how I knew he was lying
compare a dumpster
filled with sewer grease
a billboard on a dead end street
the indignity!
I keep trying to bury melodrama
in your chest
saw a cornfield
saw water disappearing
saw a girl curl herself into a dust mote
dinner will require
a good deal more killing
saw good farmland
yawning before you like a parable
This is how I knew he was lying
compare a dumpster
filled with sewer grease
a billboard on a dead end street
the indignity!
I keep trying to bury melodrama
in your chest
saw a cornfield
saw water disappearing
saw a girl curl herself into a dust mote
dinner will require
a good deal more killing
