Laura Stringfellow
Death
the bleeding tongue
the razor-sliced eye
the scar in the shape
of a crescent moon
Death
the night cough
the amnesiac who drools
severed arms packed in ice
Death
the first sting of a bone claw
the cleaved heart
red bones
the stitch matted with blood
Death
the legs that won’t work
the vein that leaks
the bruise on the back
Death
twenty boxes set ablaze in a field
the broken Chinese teapot
the rusty flute laid to rest
in its small casket
Death
the open throat of knife rust
empty vodka bottle
the carved womb
the snakes in the breast
Death
the last train
shutting of the lid
the closed window
Death
the man behind the mirror
the wall with the mouth that lies
***
Laura Stringfellow writes both verse and prose poetry, holds an MFA in Creative Writing, Poetry, and hails from the muggy strangelands of the Southern US. Recent publications have appeared, or are forthcoming, in various journals including Right Hand Pointing, Déraciné, Neologism Poetry Journal, Clementine Unbound, Black Poppy Review, and Thirteen Myna Birds.