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Publications > Footnotes > Work from The Art of Accumulation with Vi Khi Nao

Three Poems

jacqui barrington

Poem, titled "tautology vi", part one of two: In sleep we are / a borderless nation. / Unbound / by physical attribute, / tussled coasts chipped fingernails, / painted forests telegraphed / by twitching eyelids onto the slip / of a rented pillow. // At dawn lines fervently / redrawn, / made up, / fabulized, / ritualized, / sparkled blue. // A tense treaty with reality. // Applique stingers to my jaw, / discard the donor bees. / Witness gender / as a beach of asphyxiated jellyfish / at low tide. // Does transition / require captivity to medical- / industrial complex, / or can I bend / the complex to my needs?
Poem, titled "tautology vi", part two of two: Those scalpels / of tempered steel — / can I bend those too? // the lost flirtation / the forgotten pose // cold embankment / shoulder away / kinships / collapse // in sickness // perfume the sternum / project olfactory / health // and perish / amidst // the bouquet
Poem, titled "illgl i": wh sh. / .. // i / no i, / sh. // the echoing steps // pretend your are sleeping // or, // ah // no // or, // ahh // the echoing stops
Poem, titled "illgl ii": unison exhale // one breath / halts / is this // no // or, // the coming blank?

Work from The Art of Accumulation with Vi Khi Nao

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