Been sucking
the bones of this
dead-dirt house
for five long years,
grinding wood flaying
grass hefting beams spitting
rage nails and paint against
self and all whipping this
soft wooden heart humping
head-down with brush knife
and hammer smacking glaze
over flat shuttered eyes—
Prop her up! Stand her up!
Twirl her fancy! May I present!
—My God. The rot. I must not.
I must let the rotten house rot,
lower the lid and know never
to love houses of the holy,
the dead, the you, the me
but people, if at all
possible, and let
them go.
Header photograph © J.Bish.
After a rather extended and varied second childhood in New Orleans, Matt Dennison’s work has appeared in Rattle, Bayou Magazine, Redivider, Natural Bridge, The Spoon River Poetry Review and Cider Press Review, among others. He has also made short films with Michael Dickes, Swoon, and Marie Craven.
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