Research: Journals
The Journal
Past Issues
29.1
Juliet Patterson
Iteration (II)Digging the apple with my thumbs I saw a bird fall
from the roof, the quick kiss overturned.
Fighting broke out immediately in Vietnamese border
sanctuaries, a light flickered. I heard Robert Bly walking
around Cedar Lake a halo of bees around his head.
The streets of Hong Kong flooded with protest. The wood
split easily, cleaved to the block. I could smell the school bus
idling, I heard the lawn mower howl. The bird’s downy feathers
were waving its broken neck. A song without skin
to hold. The frightened photographer is brave. Shut tight, her eyes
relinquish to the skin their grasp. Romeo & Juliet
were desperately in love. The Chinese leaders were now
in a hurry. And someone was dressing a deer.
Our enemy was red. The sweet juice ran
unpleasantly down my wrist.
Getting to the wood, getting to seeds,
All afternoon counting from the window.
How does a female fruit? The right hand was a Medusa
blinding my heart. My heart took the shape of a shoe
standing in the garden. In the garden, the air was smeared
with improbable vegetations. One hundred soldiers floating
on yellow rafts. Black & heavy branches.
Saloth Sar defeated Lon Nol & officially changed
his name to Pol Pot. I was called Juliet & named for Juliet
from Verona. I’d been writing you a letter & couldn’t think
of what to say.
