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Gone the Body, Its Accessories – Rigoberto Gonzalez

on June 30 | in Poetry | by | with No Comments

Shower in the dark, a fleeting

flash of phosphorescence–a jellyfish

glowing in the depths of the sea. Reach

for it. The smoke of light

shrinks away. Ghost of a face,

ghost of a man who left

a ghost-kiss on the glass–

only proof of touch,

only trace of theft.

Gone the body, its accessories:

musk, salt, and breath–

the bell of the throat, wiry

lotus at the base of the spine.

And you, empty

cage that has lost its bird,

at night, the squeaking

of a tiny metal swing

makes you long for song.

You say his name

You say his name

You say his name

and the last part you possess

of him now dissipates. The moon,

she bows to you–she’s seen fugitives

evade recapture when the mouth

doesn’t seal like stone, suspend

the letters of a name like fireflies in amber.
But yes, this letting go the dead. And yes, relief.

 
 

nn, headshot, Rigoberto, unnamed Rigoberto González is the author of thirteen books of poetry and prose, his most recent title is the poetry volume Unpeopled Eden. He is the recipient of Guggenheim and NEA fellowships, winner of the American Book Award, The Poetry Center Book Award, The Shelley Memorial Award of The Poetry Society of America, a grant from the New York Foundation for the Arts, and a Lambda Literary Award. He is contributing editor for Poets & Writers Magazine, on the executive board of directors of the National Book Critics Circle, and is professor of English at Rutgers-Newark, the State University of New Jersey.

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