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Laurel Snyder: The Girl Learns Forfeit

May 16, 2011 by PBQ

1.
The girl’s sure
that the silt
in her tea
is ground glass,

and she thinks
she’ll die soon.

She wants to tell
the boy, but they’re
playing chess,
and it’s his turn,

so she gropes
at her belly instead.

The girl’s sure
she’s bleeding
on the inside.
She lets go

her teacup, but the cup
lands upright

on the table,
so everything’s
fine, and it’s easy
to keep going.

2.
The girl’s considered
slitting her throat,
but she’s afraid
of intention.

She wants an accident,
but she’s never had one.

Somehow, the girl
just never walks
when it’s time to stand,
so walking can’t kill her,

like the magic
of how she was born

(stanza break)

breathing, a simpler
version of thought,
but with her breath
and some air.

She doesn’t try.
She doesn’t try.

She’s sure, things fall
from the sky
because it’s the easiest
place to fall from.

3.
The girl thinks
even the sky
is falling heavily
from the sky,

though somehow she’s
not beneath it when it falls.

Some people
call this luck,
but the girl
knows better.

She’s a fish who can live
on a plate.

Now the girl
tosses the game
into the air, so the air
is falling around her,

raining little men
and men on horses,

who knock the teacup over.
so the game is ruined,
but not finished. What else
could I do? asks the girl.

Filed Under: contributors 69, Issue 69, Poetry, Poetry 69 Tagged With: Contributors 69, Laurel Snyder, Poetry, Poetry 69

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