Or Do You Not Know Your Body is a Temple
God bless the little buggies that eat of
my flesh & drink my blood. The loving fleas
who nestle their eggs inches above my
frontal lobe. The pious lice in their white
armor. The clever seed ticks who burrow
warmly between my toes. The mosquitoes
too & their hot voices & their hot teeth
sipping along the rim of my knee’s cup.
Bless the brown recluse & the green & yell
ow pus in my leg & the crevice scar.
Bless the ringworm & the red-white halo
on my foot & all the scabs that gather
like manna. Bless each creature who walks my
sleeping tongue & their faith & my moist tomb.
I Can Drive Beside the Church Bells & Wonder
I
where will i stop for coffee / which fish will
masticate my cup / mother whale belly
& her saltwater tongue / the songs on the
radio don’t make any more sense / but
they are great for snapping / this hand for the
key / this hand for the pepper spray / who will
my rapist be today / the traffic cop
& his withering come hither fingers
/ the cerulean wind / the dentist &
his purple antiseptic fingers / my
dried up lips / today i’m stone teeth rubbing
against my own left cheek / today i’m a
pair of swollen gums floating by a row
of shopping carts / & my graying fingers
II
/ i can hold this box of crackers / i can
hold this cold peach / i can hold still & wait
a small time longer / if i could read some
thing before dinner / if i could find a
nicer tablecloth / the round bright beeping
/ the yellow light / how many ways to want
before i’m done / to pop the zit in my
ear / to die like a white summer wish / to
wipe my own nose / to die with all my red
showing / for someone to tell me soon / that
my house is clean / that there is something to
do that has nothing to do with me / soon
the blue hinge between evening & bed / then
the gray halo of another morning.
Amanda Rachel Robins works as a teacher in Missouri. Her poetry is published in A-Minor Magazine, Apple Valley Review, Another Chicago Magazine, Sweet Tree Review, The Moth, Literary Mama, and others.
Twitter: @RRobins86