OLYMPIA, WASHINGTON

31 JANUARY 2009


A POEM

[am]

About Riva Roller

 

 

                    am

           
                                    a feminine?
                                         [violence]

 

                                                                        part
                                                                    blossoming
                                                                        too roughly
                                                                           apart

               and press

                                    so painfully
                                                urgent
                                         set assail
                                                a bottle to
                             never notice
                                                   and
                                                     fetish

                        sloppy
                                violence
                                    bursting through
                             and
                                sleeping

                                                tingling at
                                                        fingers gently upon
                                                   swollen,
                                                            pregnant lips

                                         pressed
                                                            a body
                                          [structure]
                                                            a body
                                         pressed
                                                            a body

                                                                        paper
                                                               ripe text
                                                                    teasing slowly
                                                                        drop
                                                                           suspended
                                                                 [temporal]
                                                            suspended over

                                                                                    open

                                                                        gaping

                                                                                         action
                                                     hits
                                                            an eyelids
                                                        downlooking
                                                        unlooking
                                                                                   
                                                                                    /sound

                                                                        unflinching
                                                                    is reflection?

                                                                  refraction?

                                                                                    is no real
                                                                                            spectrum
                                                                                    light upon
                                                                                       the wall
                                                                                                behind
                                                                                            an ivory
                                                                                    unlooking

                                               
                                                                                   
                                                                                   

                                                     turned from
                                                            a fountain
                                                                 not to kill it
                                                            or die within
                                                                 the depths of

                                                                                    sinker
                                                                             cast at
                                                                                    and only
                                                                                       skipping
                                                                                                overhead
                                                                                               
                                                                        bounce off
                                                                  pavement
                                                                             surface of a
                                                                                    water-
                                                                           solid and
                                                                             unquenchable

                                                                                    only
                                                                             in sips
                                                                                    (tish)
                                                                           tips in a
                                                                                    pool
                                                                             and out                        again
                                                                        softly

                                                            more complication
                                                                                gaze in
                                                                        absorbed [ignored]
                                                                                    pressure
                                                                             ‘til bursts

                                                                    shrapnel teeth
                                                                           ‘til gazing
                                                     knows . . .
                                                                             knows, knows

                                                                                                                only knows

 

                                                                                                                        does
                                                                                    grace himself
                                                                                                     presence
                                                                                                of a fur

                                                                        on end

                                                                                    tippy                        peek
                                                                             perfection
                                                                                    an art in
                                                                                                pen-
                                                                                                blue

                                                                           face
                                                                               a
                                                                                suspended
                                                                                    moment

                                                                                    face
                                                                                         in
                                                                                       suspended
                                                                                            movement

                                                                                    rests
                                                                                       shadow
                                                                             little illumination

                                                                                    upon a face
                                                                                                lines
                                                                                    geography

                                                                                                always [re]rivering
                                                                                                                 stories

                                                                                            becomes –ify:
                                                                                                            Thing,
                                                                                                        myth
                                                                                                to mere
                                                                                                            body
                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                        =

                                                                                    purple lights
                                                                                                upon
                                                                                            as seen in
                                                                                                        eye
                                                                                                upon
                                                                                                        page
                                                                                                upon
                                                                                                        page
                                                                                                upon

                                                            [missing]

                                                                                    eye

                                                                        seen that
                                                                                  isolation
                                                                             cannot
                                                                           be any
                                                                                but those
                                                                             who
                                                                                    possess
                                                                               

                                                            ‘twas not
                                                                    the first time,
                                                                             but
                                                                    minds
                                                                        alone

                                                            in
                                                               space

                                                     disconnect

                                                            words of-
                                                               mouth

                                                                 but eyes
                                                                        alone

                                                                           speak
                                                                        quite
                                                                                    loudly
                                                                 to and fro

                                                as children
                                                            tag                violent
                                                                                    and escape

                                                                                         and escapes

                                                               failure of
                                                                        bodies to
                                                                           speak
                                                                        and escapes

                                                                 shivers
                                                                        spine
                                                                    a dirty
                                                                           yellow

 

                                                body
                                                     as an animal’s

                                                   theory-
                                                     disguise

                                    disk-eyes wide
                                                   peony

                        to dark

                                                mysterious
                                                            mind-
                                                                 cave
                                         maelstrom into
                                                   obsessing over
                                                                 dribblings of
                                                                        too sane
                                                                           control [suave]
                                                            dribblings of
                                                                        jawbone foam
                                                     miracle into
                                                [mis-]paper
                                                            control

                                                   peak at
                                                            possession/
                                                                        possessive-
                                                                    tense
                                                                           passion,
                                                                        “mine”

                                                            field-
                                                                 “mine”
                                                           
                                                ripe to harvest
                                                            and
                                                               own

                                                ripe to press
                                                            finger in
                                                                 and
                                                                    own
                                                            more

                                                                       

                                                                             last-name
                                                                                ownings
                                                           
                                                                                    standardize
                                                                             usual face
                                                                                       to read
                                                                                    in
                                                                                       habit

                                                                        fit

                                                                                    rubbing
                                                                                         mind[s]                 glisten
                                                                                                            minerals
                                                                                                     in
                                                                                                        rubbing
                                                                                   
                                                                                                                 hands
                                                                                                against
                                                                                                                 satin
                                                                                                against
                                                                                                                 glue
                                                                                                against
                                                                                                                 wood
                                                                                                against
                                   
                                                                                    puddling
                                                                                            situation
                                                                                       makes a

                                                                                                an entire
                                                                                                   explosion

                                                                                                            to breathe in
                                                                                                images
                                                                                                     enfolding myst-
                                                                                                   permutation
                                                                                                            and adherence

                                                                        figure                                       folded
                                                                                         over mineral
                                                                                    external +
                                                                                            looping

                                                                             remembers only
                                                                                                mistakes

                                                                                    /a word/

                                                                                                wording
                                                                           sits in an order
                                                                                         un-

                                                                                    and in
                                                                        resting
                                                                             always to
                                                                                    influence
                                                                             an order

                                                                                    where sits a face
                                                                                                           category
                                                                                                and word
                                                                                                     hidden

                                                                           finds place
                                                                                         only
                                                                                    on a tongue
                                                                                       smoothly
                                                                                    uttering
                                                                                       juices of
                                                                                         living
                                                                                      sensuality
                                                                                    fit pleasantly
                                                                                         a mind to
                                                                                                flower

                                                                        press tongue-in
                                                                                    and absorb
                                                                       
                                                                       
                                                                 wring-out
                                   
                                                                           and finally
                                                                                    [re]read

 

 

 


currently studies poetics and philosophy at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. She has experimented with art of all forms, and her poetry has appeared in the 2008 issue of Evergreen’s literary journal, Slightly West, as well as several independently circulated journals and projects. She has read for the NAKeD PUPPeTS performance of “HADeS,” has participated in Rodrigo Toscano’s Collapsible Poetics Theater, reading from the piece “Pig Angels of the Americlypse,” and has also read at PRESS Cross-Cultural Literary Conference 2008 in Olympia. She additionally works as the Adaptive Technologies Lead at the college, managing the transcription of texts into alternative formats for student accessibility.