A Medicine Poem
believe it or not the dent in my mattress has been holding me here
in your absence
arms outstretched
thighs pressed together
my lips take to skin and
from wrist to elbow crook and back again I follow
my veins wondering if the pressure will bring me closer to bone or
some stoney surface that might E A S E to liquid with my lips parting…
//
nestle the heels of your palms into your eye sockets and let your eyes recede back into your skull. create the tiniest of spaces between eye and eyelid and track what release this space invites in the rest of the body.
//
believe it or not i’ve been learning to savor in the taste of my own skin
in your absence
arms outstretched
thighs pressed together
the tip of my tongue against my palm
at most it tastes like salt
at least it tastes of me
and all my glorious rot
//
take one arm across your chest to rest on the opposite shoulder, wrapping the other arm around your waist. breathe in and apply pressure. breathe out and release.
//
believe it or not
in your absence
arms outstretched
thighs pressed together
my skin dampened
in delirium my pores erupt
oyster, portabella, chicken of the woods…
blackheads and bumps swimming in the body’s brine
//
move from the ocean of your stomach, tipping and pouring that liquid into your extremities. listen to the madness within: all those organs working overtime, that pulled muscle knitting itself back together, stomach acid eating away at your breakfast… your stuttering heart…
//
believe it or not
arms
thighs
elbows and belly skin
regenerate
cool and pool with brittle bones
temper me
with taught softness…
//
standing, slap your body down until you can feel the vibrations. pause and let your muscles drip off of your bones. breathe. everything has already begun to change.
Emmacate Sauer is a student at Oberlin College, set to graduate in spring 2023 with a degree in dance & creative writing. With their writing they seek to engage the senses, creating somatic experiences that explore human nature through the lens of the grotesque and the strange.
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