High Horse

"Storyville Portrait" - EJ Belocq (ca. 1912-)

Lips 
 
Moon's thin slice, 
cypress 
shadows— 

coquina shells 
adorned in hues 

A harp's weep 
in the night’s 
breath. 

Oh 
Molly, 
her stone eyes 
watch the rain 

Stories tangled 
with vine 
and earth. 

Old ghosts 
long shadows— 
beneath
peeling paint: tangled sins.


Somebody’s body 

Bone and sinew 
Binding 

Wings flutter in the 
grit— 
too delicate for the flight. 

A plea from 
the killer— 
painted eyes 
brimming with want 
pleading to be 
chased— 
The pulse, 
of fractured time


Not his seed 

Hemophilia, 
a blood that won’t 
stop, 
a rhythm offbeat, 
men 
without wombs 
grasping 
for what they can’t 
create. 

cards scattered, spades 
peaches and plums 
soft 
in the last light, 
roll the dice, 
and accept 
the final 
deal.

Amanda Bylone is a poet and visual artist. She has contributed to Moral Crema and the Belladonna Collaborative.