The Madness Vase
Andrea Gibson
"The nutritionist said I should eat root vegetables.
Said if I could get down thirteen turnips a day
I would be grounded, rooted."
"The first psycho therapist told me to spend
three hours each day sitting in a dark closet
with my eyes closed and ears plugged.
I tried it once but couldn’t stop thinking
about how gay it was to be sitting in the closet."
"The yogi told me to stretch everything but the truth."
"The trauma said, “Don’t write these poems.
Nobody wants to hear you cry
about the grief inside your bones.”
"My bones said, “Write the poems.”
I want to play with my words. I want things to make sense and make connections in a way that inspires, and speaks to people.
I want to say what I want to say, without saying it.
I've got this poem going all the way.
I had this one in the final 8, but it lost to On Turning Ten by Billy Collins.
ReplyDeleteBut still. Such a good poem.
"I want to say what I want to say, without saying it." I know, right?