Poetry by Rusty Morrison
Narrow Negotiations
Wet clothes on the line revolve.
A door you can’t pass. See shapes
of bodies you thought you were
in damp cotton jeans silk shirts.
Feel the person that tight-sized
clothing tells you to believe.
But she’s not there. Just behind
the glass. Even if fingers
aren’t scar tissue. Still you press
hard past sensation. The air
hurricanes but the door won’t
open an inch. Though the shape
seems to revolve. No feeling
you trust offers you access
Art Information
- “Tales of Bulgaria” © SEIGAR; used by permission.
Rusty Morrison is co-publisher of Omnidawn, and her five books include After Urgency (Tupelo Press, 2012), which won the Dorset Prize, and The True Keeps Calm Biding Its Story (Ahsahta Press, 2008), winner of the Sawtooth Prize, the James Laughlin Award, the Northern California Book Award, and the DiCastagnola Award. Her book Beyond the Chainlink (Ahsahta Press, 2014) was a finalist for the Northern California Book Award. She’s currently a fellow at UC Berkeley Art Research Center’s Poetry and the Senses Program.
For more information, visit Rusty Morrison’s website or follow her on Twitter @Whethering.
