chronic lyric: pollutant
o pain, see
my peeled bark
my moss cascade
my swollen burls
the sky
flaunts milkfat
clouds
turmeric
and smoky
garnet
i feel my core
dissolve—
effervescent
tremor in
the phloem
zyprexa
i am a gray spirit
sewn to a house
first grave for a second
to find myself
dispossessed of elbows
then curious i wander
shake my head over a cairn
of pantry spices cardamom
fennel coriander cumin a chant
to take me home
where is home
i am a glass rabbit
in a room full of cushions
slightly damp
flesh silvered with frostbite
coffeestained china vials & tinctures
unraveled wool prismatic rocks
blow through the mud bank
of pipe leakage and dust clumps
over the swampy couch
into one ear and out
site of a burglary my body arises
from dust-stroked baseboards
from a huddle of curio cabinet figurines
Jill Khoury is a multiply disabled poet. She holds an MFA from The Ohio State University and edits Rogue Agent, a journal of embodied poetry and art. Her poems have appeared in numerous journals, including Copper Nickel, Bone Bouquet, Lunch Ticket, and diode. She has written two chapbooks—Borrowed Bodies (Pudding House) and Chance Operations (Paper Nautilus). Her debut full-length collection, Suites for the Modern Dancer, was released from Sundress Publications. Find her at jillkhoury.com.
