Dual
i question my
masculine because
i am no man but/
that's where i keep my strength.
heavy with
milkfull and giving
but i can't
say
breasts
central to
me/woman
inundated with weak
but i created [breathed life]
i am god and nothing
how do i be
Ode to Reason
this poem wants to be the odyssey
with sails, billowing
as graceful
as the nutcracker
ballet, no narrative
to trip over
this poem is scared of length
enough time to disappoint
with its imperfect
how long is long
this poem will be medium
[a scathing indictment
of my millennial attention span]
and unwilling to give
emotions power
this poem wants to
"resist aboutness[1]"
but fails with glitter and fire
this poem is vulcan
not lingering
on emotion
if long poems are love poems
this is an ode to reason
this poem tries to explore
the barley i was
and the whiskey
i will become, complex
hints of vanilla and smoke
this poem strives
to understand
i am not finished distilling
this poem is a shitshow
fighting to keep
its integrity
but slicing its hands on
shards of what-if
this poem is an
ode to reason
because reason,fact
irrefutable
but emotion is
a spilled glass of
wine, staining
everything it touches
[1] Zucker, R. (2010). An Anatomy of the Long Poem. Retrieved from https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/text/anatomy-long-poem
About Sam B.
Sam B. is a mom of one, has two degrees (english lit and child psych), and is still a bartender because she loves talking about beer. It took her nearly four years to change her last name after getting married (on halloween). She juggles writing with the rest of living and finds inspiration difficult when nothing is wrong. ee cummings is a major influence in style; so is visual artist Brice Marden, but imagine his paintings as words.