Rebecca Lu Kiernan
V3:E11 November, 2001

OF THIS WORLD

I walk the docks without him
it is much like swimming without an arm
like getting your fin caught in a hook
and having to choose between being
whole or caught, free or torn.
Breaking free is instinct
no matter how much damage,
regardless of how large a portion
of the self
must be left behind.
I must have seen the Gulf of Mexico before,
this slow gray ship has surely crossed me.
I stumble on, starting to like
the taste of my own blood.
I walk the docks without him
as if I were of this world.

Date of Birth: June 21,1963 Email: geckogalpoet@hotmail.com Publications: Ms. Magazine, Gargoyle, Longshot, New Works Review, Southern Ocean Review, Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, Exquisite Corpse, 2River View, Naked Poetry, North American Review, etc. Chapbook: Sex With Trees And Other Things Equally Responsive Awards: Nominated For The General Electric Award For Writers Editor of: Gecko

- June 2002 - The Mothers upon waking Fandango de las Calaveras a letter to DeAndrea: flowers in your pocket I Mistook the Furs for Scratches Elegy south street seaport, nyc Spring Rain Bettas Western Wallflower Groundhog Day Bedtime Mail The process of eating Trout Fishing with Rommel's Last-known Foe - MJM's Favorite Six - Dear Anna Of This World The New Gynecologist Rice The Turquoise Dress Letter To Loan Officer