cat woodward

Gastro, mon amie

Banana, abandon your discretion

softly now, pulpify

we’re waiting to be shamed

Mango, golden noisy oval you

be what you are

lamp, heavy as infant heads

your shadow, throw

those Lentil conspirators huddling

where are your sympathies?

among fingers gently mingle,

Cashew becomes you

even the Mushroom has gills

worshipful fold, precious stranger

mimics the ear, shrinks

and dumb brain of Walnut

crumpled, runnelled thing, knocking

divulge your little darkness

to us, a larger dark

now Squash, relinquish

embrace the form

of small cubes departing

one another

chop, chop!

broil our irreversible broil

pattern of the world’s sore unwinding

here Bordeaux bamboozles us,

unbinds us with its swill

of busy ghosts simmering

be a loving devil

be a ruby ring, sing

the vine of home, o –

when my friend she broke her confidence,

like a bird from the hedge in May

indelicate an ornate bone departed from her cheek

savage + weightless

there was left over from

when a little lie < in a small room <

a crochet hook. and declining,

could not blink, could not eat

was almost

now, say

if rind then nail

if nail then the molluscs of her eyes

say

if pip then thumb

if peel, surprise

say

if wet then sweeten

if thumb then eyes

then the reddened rind of her tongue

say

if flesh then eyes

if mollusc then thorn

if friend then sweeten

say

if friend then sweeten

her

ever-falling chiffonade

of sanguine, tart, voila!

abandon your discretion

softly ,

we're waiting

golden noisy you

what you are

a heavy infant head

your shadow,

those cons huddling

where are you ?

gently

becomes you

even the room has gills

ful fold, precious stranger

mimics the ear, shrinks

a dumb brain

crumpled, runnelled , knocking

divulge little

to us, a larger

now relinquish

embrace the form

of departing

chop!

our revers

pattern the sore wind

here bamboozles us,

unbinds us with its will

us ghosts simmering

be a devil

be a rub

of home, o –

when my friend she broke ,

like a bird a

delicate ornate one her cheek

savage + less

there was left over

a little lie <

a crochet hook a declining,

could not blink, could not eat

was almost

o

rind then nail

nail then the molluscs of her eyes

pip then thumb

peel,

wet then sweeten

thumb then eyes

then the reddened rind of her tongue

flesh then

mollusc then thorn

then

friend then sweet

ever-falling

o !

abandon your

softly

ing

noisy

what you are

a heavy infant

those huddling

are ?

gently

even the

fold ious stranger

the ear, shrinks

a dumb

nelled knocking

to us

relinquish

the form

of departing

revers

pattern

boo

us

us ghosts

be a

be a

me, o –

when my friend she broke ,

like

an ornate cheek

savage +

left over

<

a hook a declining,

could not , could not eat

was

rind then nail

then the molluscs of her eyes

then thumb

then

then eyes

then the reddened rind of her tongue

flesh then

mollusc then thorn

if friend then sweeten

then

ever-

abandon

ing

what you

infant

where

gently

even the

stranger

shrinks

to us

ish

depart

pattern

o

us

us o

a

a

when my friend she o

like

an ornate

savage

over

a hook declining,

could eat

rind nail

molluscs eyes

then thumb

then

her tongue

then

then

then