AS IF I WERE ANYTHING BEFORE by Damian Rogers
Not all rocks
are alive. Or
so I’ve read.
Someone I love
is struggling, her thoughts
caught in a net.
Her face is full of grace,
her body evergreen,
her heart sharp
as the Canadian Shield.
I’m in Sudbury.
It’s snowing.
The pine trees looked lovely
as I drove
the treacherous roads.
I’m ill-equipped
for this. I sit
by a fake fireplace
that frames a true flame.
I have been crossed
by two crows today.
This tapestry depicts
the biggest bummer
of the new century.
She said you’re hurting
me. She said you’re
not a child.
YES, I’M A WITCH by Damian Rogers
For Yoko Ono
I dreamed there was a storm.
When it cleared the sky said here
is a half glass of water
to see the seasons through.
When I was a little girl Mother
said I could be anything.
I said a rabbit.
White hare running through white air.
Stand at the stove and heat milk.
Dream of white rabbits dancing
on white chairs in white snow.
Say yes to sleeping in a see-through dress.
Yes to a pair of scissors for the people
who cut holes in my clothes.
I’ll sit here and watch you do it.
I looked up at the night
and saw the moon.
I said Are you cold?
Do you need a blanket?
Oh no, she said. No, no, no.
When I woke up there was a mountain
and I was a cloud floating beside her.
How do we get back down?
Iron your mind out
like a clean white bedsheet.
Hang it on a clothesline.
Call it the sky.
Listen to Damian Rogers’ reading of “Yes, I’m A Witch” below…