sinker
the sound my clavicle makes when i rattle on it is tympanic
blue note
minor seventh dissonance
bone of my finger hiccups
over grooves and depressions of the sternum
disappear
some days i’m afraid i will disappear
the top of my nail curves forward
at a sharp angle
one i always forget to sand over
every bone in my body rings a ditty
learned by muscle memory
good luck with the earworm
the index is made up of the
distal
middle
proximal phalanxes
plus that index metacarpal
i play chopsticks on my thoracic vertebrae
invoke chopin like euterpe
the scales i practice on myself
the scale on which i step and bargain
somewhere in there there’s a punchline
and octaves of irony
i want my fingers to tickle
trill-trill
the deep part of my throat
i want to push and taste
everything i guzzled while i sang
i want my skin to hug
the contours of my bones
ever faithfully
i am faithful to my shrinkage
emily grierson to her desiccated corpse lover
except both emily and the lover are myself
except i have no love for myself
tritone dissonance reminds
that i bartered that one for a sense
of belonging
for oneness with that hunger
that sits right near my jugular notch
A. Martine is a trilingual writer, musician and artist of color who goes where the waves take her. She might have been a kraken in a past life. She's an Assistant Editor at Reckoning Press and a co-Editor-in-Chief/ Producer/Creative Director of The Nasiona. Her collection AT SEA, which was shortlisted for the 2019 Kingdoms in the Wild Poetry Prize, is forthcoming with CLASH BOOKS. Some words found or forthcoming in: Déraciné, The Rumpus, Moonchild Magazine, Marías at Sampaguitas, Luna Luna, Bright Wall/Dark Room, Pussy Magic, South Broadway Ghost Society, Gone Lawn, Boston Accent Lit, Porridge Magazine, Anti-Heroin Chic, Cosmonauts Avenue, Tenderness Lit. @Maelllstrom / www.amartine.com.
A. Martine is a trilingual writer, musician and artist of color who goes where the waves take her. She might have been a kraken in a past life. She's an Assistant Editor at Reckoning Press and co-Editor-in-Chief/Producer/Creative Director of The Nasiona. Her collection AT SEA, which was shortlisted for the 2019 Kingdoms in the Wild Poetry Prize is forthcoming with CLASH BOOKS. Some words found or forthcoming in: Déraciné, The Rumpus, Moonchild Magazine, Marías at Sampaguitas, Luna Luna, Bright Wall/Dark Room, Pussy Magic, South Broadway Ghost Society, Gone Lawn, Boston Accent Lit, Anti-Heroin Chic, Cosmonauts Avenue, Tenderness Lit. @Maelllstrom/www.amartine.com.
