Sheila E. Murphy
Possessive Case
He asks her to be his
mirror. She demurs
sans speech. He thinks
he hears a nod.
She finds herself less alone
than she has dreamed.
The house, replete with souvenirs
of his, reduces her
span of attention. He is attentive
and confirms her whereabouts
with feigned confidence.
She learns to laugh
with not at and rarely
alone. So much space
here and so little
between them.
You May Be Entitled to Compensation
Said the post with red text I did not open.
Time to go to sleep apart from my habitual attachment.
The Dhammapada is as fresh as young roses.
Plural affection sprinkles my new heart.
Will the dreams bewilder me,
and will the pencil sketch anticipated
lead to a desired indelibility?
Questions for gods set out on a platter
of treats not to be consumed,
but to remain decor and inspiration.
Follow me, said the beauty of a pure center.
I am drawn, say I repeatedly.
Compensation means agreement
I cannot agree unless the terms, etc.
Listen as you never have, and learn
as you will do. Tomorrow is a new past.
Synecdoche Rhymes with Nothing that I Know
Semitones sound grand apart from piano motion why don't you just Gershwin your way
through the maze of stalled routine
This is you in camera as seen through my eyes
You need energy to work energy to pronounce things energy to think things up
I stop by to check your pulse your storytelling absent connectivity of synapses I find you
shimmering albeit separate from your life
The sole window is covered dark to keep you feeling safe to let you sleep as the longest day
of the year approaches soon the shortest one
I learn to voice print all you hear your hearing is not good you need nutrition for the heart
of intellect again again
I thumb through the white pages no longer physical and find you
Any day now school will no longer be in session you speak in code
Hypnotists are gathering in hope they may retrieve your transcendental brilliance
Integers do well on walls where they are featured in the bold white light
Litmus means this to you means this to me no telling how to translate what I keep what I have
lifted out of the long string of celluloid
Chemistry is all we are except for music
Hemispheric branding means no rodeo at all
Any form of diatonic wrinkling means we're missing only will to be eternal
My Pillow Lark, My Umpteenth Reason for Deciding to Belong
It won't be long now. For the time I have, I will revere you.
Center after center point.
You move the needle to the light.
Sheila E. Murphy is an American poet who has been writing and publishing actively since 1978. Murphy is the recipient of the Gertrude Stein Award for her book
Letters to Unfinished J. (Green Integer Press, 2003). Her most recent book is
Golden Milk (Luna Bisonte Prods, 2020).
Reporting Live from You Know Where won the Hay(na)Ku Poetry Book Prize Competition from Meritage Press (U.S.A.) and xPress(ed) (Finland). Also in 2018, Broken Sleep Books brought out the book
As If To Tempt the Diatonic Marvel from the Ivory.
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