Mary Ozbolt
make use of my body
strike it with lightning, let it uncarve
sprinkle its soot around hydrangeas &
roses
the petals almost gone
take chords from my body, string them to
dying bodies, papier-mache guitar
play the song Four Elements
I glimpse a cat’s body on the side
of the road & think about
how the best way to leave my body
is to cure my lungs in sea salt
one day my body will be made use of
food around the roots
finally grounded &
alive
***
Mary Ozbolt received her MFA in Creative Writing from the NEOMFA program. She has been published in Ashbelt, The Bind, and Wingless Dreamer and won the Sam Ella Dukes Memorial Prize in Poetry in 2020 and 2021. She enjoys lazy Sunday afternoons with her son, partner, and two cats.