#clement-tow

Odette:

Sieve head daughter,

catching flickers of light

with your fingers,

popping them into your mouth

they dissolve on your tongue

taste like memory, 

cotton candy whatchamacallit,

something sweet 

mother says it’s bad for me,

the light hums bright, coming back

to whisper lullabies tonight,

driving back the darkness in droves of 

cloudless thunder,

you shake; you shiver--

he’s down by the river,

wake in silence and shadow, 

tremble like a knife

waiting to unsheathe.

---

Sonia:

Have you ever watched the dancers onstage at the ballet?

How each little missus knows her way,

around on her toes predisposed to grace and sway,

with their arms uplifted,

giving silent praise?

This is the manner in which Sonia moves,

her sweeping arcs direct and full of grooves

where the knives kissed deep 

and put to sleep

all intent for puppetry behooves

the careless flow of her long red hair,

devouring night after night; beware

the way she eats up death

washes it down under her breath

with sing-song carousel flair 

Turning, turning, turning