<div dir="ltr"><h2 style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><font face="georgia, serif" size="3">JULY</font></h2><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><p style="margin:0px"><font face="georgia, serif"><br></font></p></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><p style="margin:0px"><font face="georgia, serif"><br></font></p></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:medium"><p style="margin:0px"><font face="georgia, serif">For months I eat only</font></p></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:medium"><p style="margin:0px"><font face="georgia, serif">apples I keep</font></p></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:medium"><p style="margin:0px"><font face="georgia, serif">them in my closet       I return palming</font></p></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:medium"><p style="margin:0px"><font face="georgia, serif"><br></font></p></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:medium"><p style="margin:0px"><font face="georgia, serif">the oil of</font></p></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:medium"><p style="margin:0px"><font face="georgia, serif">their smell</font></p></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:medium"><p style="margin:0px"><font face="georgia, serif"><br></font></p></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:medium"><p style="margin:0px"><font face="georgia, serif"><br></font></p></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:medium"><p style="margin:0px"><font face="georgia, serif">Deep skins red as between the teeth</font></p></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:medium"><p style="margin:0px"><font face="georgia, serif"><br></font></p></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:medium"><p style="margin:0px"><font face="georgia, serif"><br></font></p></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:medium"><p style="margin:0px"><font face="georgia, serif">Now you lie in his arms</font></p></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:medium"><p style="margin:0px"><font face="georgia, serif">proud as a stretched leg</font></p></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:medium"><p style="margin:0px"><font face="georgia, serif"><br></font></p></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:medium"><p style="margin:0px"><font face="georgia, serif"><br></font></p></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:medium"><p style="margin:0px"><font face="georgia, serif">Listen it is near midsummer and our friends are fucking</font></p></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:medium"><p style="margin:0px"><font face="georgia, serif">in the twilight       smoking</font></p></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:medium"><p style="margin:0px"><font face="georgia, serif">in the brambles       is it getting too late</font></p></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:medium"><p style="margin:0px"><font face="georgia, serif"><br></font></p></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:medium"><p style="margin:0px"><font face="georgia, serif"><br></font></p></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:medium"><p style="margin:0px"><font face="georgia, serif">If I eat only apples       I am not thin yet</font></p></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:medium"><p style="margin:0px"><font face="georgia, serif">will my bones be like the edges of a bowl</font></p></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><p style="margin:0px"><font face="georgia, serif"><br></font></p></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><p style="margin:0px"><font face="georgia, serif"><br></font></p></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><p style="margin:0px"><font face="georgia, serif"><br></font></p></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><p style="margin:0px"><font face="georgia, serif"><br></font></p></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><p style="margin:0px"><font face="georgia, serif"><br></font></p></div><h2 style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><font face="georgia, serif" size="3">DIRT MOUTH</font></h2><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><p style="margin:0px"><font face="georgia, serif"><br></font></p></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><p style="margin:0px"><font face="georgia, serif"><br></font></p></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:medium"><p style="margin:0px"><font face="georgia, serif">The radish</font></p></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:medium"><p style="margin:0px"><font face="georgia, serif">glares and thickens</font></p></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:medium"><p style="margin:0px"><font face="georgia, serif"><br></font></p></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:medium"><p style="margin:0px"><font face="georgia, serif">on its red</font></p></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:medium"><p style="margin:0px"><font face="georgia, serif">hidden string</font></p></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:medium"><p style="margin:0px"><font face="georgia, serif"><br></font></p></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:medium"><p style="margin:0px"><font face="georgia, serif"><br></font></p></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:medium"><p style="margin:0px"><font face="georgia, serif">but who knows</font></p></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:medium"><p style="margin:0px"><font face="georgia, serif">if the beets</font></p></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:medium"><p style="margin:0px"><font face="georgia, serif"><br></font></p></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:medium"><p style="margin:0px"><font face="georgia, serif">will</font></p></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:medium"><p style="margin:0px"><font face="georgia, serif">root:</font></p></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:medium"><p style="margin:0px"><font face="georgia, serif"><br></font></p></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:medium"><p style="margin:0px"><font face="georgia, serif"><br></font></p></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:medium"><p style="margin:0px"><font face="georgia, serif">bull-dark,</font></p></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:medium"><p style="margin:0px"><font face="georgia, serif"><br></font></p></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:medium"><p style="margin:0px"><font face="georgia, serif">cheeks stained</font></p></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:medium"><p style="margin:0px"><font face="georgia, serif">chocolate:</font></p></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:medium"><p style="margin:0px"><font face="georgia, serif"><br></font></p></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:medium"><p style="margin:0px"><font face="georgia, serif"><br></font></p></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:medium"><p style="margin:0px"><font face="georgia, serif">whole and blood-</font></p></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:medium"><p style="margin:0px"><font face="georgia, serif">certain</font></p></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:medium"><p style="margin:0px"><font face="georgia, serif"><br></font></p></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:medium"><p style="margin:0px"><font face="georgia, serif"><br></font></p></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:medium"><p style="margin:0px"><font face="georgia, serif">as my</font></p></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:medium"><p style="margin:0px"><font face="georgia, serif">brute ache</font></p></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:medium"><p style="margin:0px"><font face="georgia, serif"><br></font></p></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:medium"><p style="margin:0px"><font face="georgia, serif"><br></font></p></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:medium"><p style="margin:0px"><font face="georgia, serif">for you</font></p></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:medium"><p style="margin:0px"><font face="georgia, serif">in the night</font></p></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><p style="margin:0px"><br></p></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><p style="margin:0px"><br></p></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><p style="margin:0px"><br></p></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><p style="margin:0px"><br></p></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><p style="margin:0px"><br></p></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><p style="margin:0px"><br></p></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><p style="margin:0px"><br></p></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><p style="margin:0px"><font face="georgia, serif" size="1"><b>Shamala Gallagher</b>'s chapbook <i>I Learned the Language of Barbs and Sparks No One Spoke</i> is forthcoming from dancing girl press in 2015. She holds an MFA from the Michener Center for Writers and lives in Athens, Georgia.</font></p><p style="margin:0px"><font face="georgia, serif" size="1"><br></font></p></div><div><br></div>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><font face="georgia, serif"><br></font></div><div dir="ltr"><font face="georgia, serif">RealPoetik<br><a href="http://www.realpoetik.blogspot.com" target="_blank">www.realpoetik.blogspot.com</a></font></div><div dir="ltr"><br></div><div dir="ltr"><br></div></div>
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