Toward a Hermeneutics of Language in which Poetry is Mistaken for Violets

this is the trouble with language

it moves with borrowed light
lingers
between lovers
between sky and bird
a woman’s body and your mouth

it is a thing that grows as the light moves
follows the revolutions of the sun
is consumed
by the appetites of the soil

I list all of the men I have loved. Those who have left me and
all the rest. And as I collapse into a sleep that is not
I reach
for your shoulders
as you move
to your side of the bed
I am
bathing
in a
pool
of salt
as the poem begins again
my hollowed body
now overflowing with song

About the Author

In these pieces, Ann Pedone explores and unpacks the often-times fraught relationship between erotic love, language, and the body. She has recently had work published in several journals including Adelaide, Birmingham Arts Journal, and Comstock Review. To view more of her work click below.