Eileen Myles
Mary Hansen
Autumnal
day
in which
I fed
a horse
an apple
took the
wrong tea
bag to make
the wrong
tea. She
rears up
unexpectedly
crowds out
the pattern
with her
sizzling
beat. She
comes
back repeat
edly.
Time
was
a souvenir
towel was
truly a towel.
The wind has
great force.
The tree
has truly
made its
decision
did the
truck
strike Mary
or did
Mary
hit the
truck. You
moved
your head
The weather
said. I’m sure
she suffered
some time
in the
past. In a rain
storm
lightning
struck
her back.
You can
see those
wounds
when you’re
walking through
the forest
& that’s
what
took her
down.
Eileen Myles (they/them, b. 1949) is a poet, novelist and art journalist whose practice of vernacular first-person writing has made them one of the most recognized writers of their generation. Pathetic Literature, which they edited, came out in Fall of 22. a “Working Life”, their newest collection of poems, is out now. They live in New York & in Marfa, TX.
day
in which
I fed
a horse
an apple
took the
wrong tea
bag to make
the wrong
tea. She
rears up
unexpectedly
crowds out
the pattern
with her
sizzling
beat. She
comes
back repeat
edly.
Time
was
a souvenir
towel was
truly a towel.
The wind has
great force.
The tree
has truly
made its
decision
did the
truck
strike Mary
or did
Mary
hit the
truck. You
moved
your head
The weather
said. I’m sure
she suffered
some time
in the
past. In a rain
storm
lightning
struck
her back.
You can
see those
wounds
when you’re
walking through
the forest
& that’s
what
took her
down.
Eileen Myles (they/them, b. 1949) is a poet, novelist and art journalist whose practice of vernacular first-person writing has made them one of the most recognized writers of their generation. Pathetic Literature, which they edited, came out in Fall of 22. a “Working Life”, their newest collection of poems, is out now. They live in New York & in Marfa, TX.