Michaela A. Gabriel lives in Vienna, Austria, where she assists adults in acquiring computer and English skills. She has been published in English, German, Italian, and Polish, both online and in print, most recently in Eclectica, Loch Raven Review, Underground Window, The Hiss Quarterly, MindFire, and Niederngasse's Erotica Supplement. Her first chapbook, apples for adam, is available from FootHills Publishing, and her collection, the secret meanings of greek letters, was published by dancing girl press in 2007. beta (Β, β)
plastered to the
road on winter nights,
it evokes bleached adders
curled up on your back. in summer
dreams, it suggest twins: girl on top,
boy's legs stretching toward solid ground.
when you wake up, this is what you'll find:
two crows outside your window, beaks
threatening glass; a taste of second
best stale in your mouth - a cave
deserted by affirmatives and
exclamation marks.
this is no room you
want to live in, no house
you want to own: pale paper
peeling to reveal discoloured secrets
told by stumbling ancient tongues, walls
soft as dumplings. the roof slants towards ruin,
a state of mourning: stitch another failure on
your chest. littered with shards of broken
pitchers, fragile wings, a dusty path
winds down to the dry well. this
is the message: do not sleep.
rise, wade across the river.
dreams, it suggest twins: girl on top,
boy's legs stretching toward solid ground.
when you wake up, this is what you'll find:
two crows outside your window, beaks
threatening glass; a taste of second
best stale in your mouth - a cave
deserted by affirmatives and
exclamation marks.
this is no room you
want to live in, no house
you want to own: pale paper
peeling to reveal discoloured secrets
told by stumbling ancient tongues, walls
soft as dumplings. the roof slants towards ruin,
a state of mourning: stitch another failure on
your chest. littered with shards of broken
pitchers, fragile wings, a dusty path
winds down to the dry well. this
is the message: do not sleep.
rise, wade across the river.
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