poems by C.A. CONRAD
from WIDTH OF A WITCH
Pluto.1
the pearl starts over a
new grain of sand we
are going to find in
the planet of blue
a freshly written eviction note
gone fishing for better tenants a
sash hanging off the horse
told the story without you
the kind of children we deserve who rob us in our sleep
we never need to believe in anything again
they take our car and money and head for the beach
Pluto.2
they requested a happier poem
the distinct sound of a backstab
up in the stomach getting a fix on the
signal leave vomit on the
seat and tell them we are
not sorry for any of it poke
surrounding haystack in
search of a slow song
excess is haunted by our poverty of
benevolence but we grab a broader patch of
shoulder corrupt the smallest eyes in the
freshly printed poem
Pluto.3
judged by the way we fall in
love in the bathroom in sweating out the
misery entering the fine blades in harmony
chopping all of our best to distribute over the
whole goddamned rotted beating muscle
even when we have
forgotten where we are
love finds us just
sticks us
sobbing with shame
inside a glorious steaming pile of the musk
saying no doesn’t matter you can’t say no for long
Pluto.4
we win from time to time
abandoned above adaptable positions of the losing
we risk everything in thinking we can navigate maverick of the green carry a
bottle of wine into the
pumpkin patch looking
for a new way to
angle the old songs
sell me a ticket to
your dance please
I believe in the strength of
poetry a little stone in the moth
helps balance her on my breath
"These poems are part of a longer series titled WIDTH OF A WITCH. They are resulting from a (Soma)tic poetry ritual, “MARFA Poetry Machine in 36 Things.” I was in Marfa, Texas on a Lannan Fellowship where I did 36 things a day for 36 consecutive days. Things like honoring a living poet at dawn, infusing breakfast with Yoko Ono’s music, working out by following along to Mary Wigman’s WITCH DANCE video on YouTube. I also carried a sweet potato with a purple glitter skirt and giant violet eyes with me wherever I went. The ritual is dedicated to my friend, the amazing artist Jason Dodge."
