A Poem by Eileen Myles

BP

 

If I set my blackberry at ‘normal’ what will I get

besides a paler icon on its screen

that’s silent and that seems weird

who taught their students to never

say weird. I’d be speechless so much

of the time. In fact ‘weird’ is the mitten

I keep my normal in

so there.

The bottom line’s gotta be class

I write in this now

hardly able to remember the word

that means she writes like she sounds

I like the breath of a stretch

you read that, hear me

go oh

otherwise it’s just all smeared out there

for you to reject

 

I’m a little sad

and we all agreed a room of us that it was

important to say:  I’m feeling it now

are you

the tiniest rectangle of trees under bamboo

thank god gets me out of this impossible

tilt on the medium of why don’t I tell him

what I’m working on now: novel

my novel’s skinny

I have a movie to watch so I don’t

have to do this. I can express even

less commitment

my girlfriend sends me a picture in which she

looks melancholy and I a self-hating

fool: giddy. Is it reduced to colon

it’s almost like I’m grabbing

your attention by its two

tits and going: dig this.

 

 

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Eileen MylesInferno (a poet’s novel) (2010) chronicles the adventures of a female writer in hell. Myles’ other books include The Importance of Being Iceland/travel essays in art (2009) for which she received a Warhol Foundation/Creative Capital art writing grant; Sorry, Tree (2007); Tow, with artist Larry C. Collins (2005); Skies (2001); on my way (2001); Cool for You (2000); School of Fish (1997); Maxfield Parrish (1995); Not Me (1991); and Chelsea Girls (1994).

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