life’s ambiguities can be fatal
for instance
i study men & wonder when they
will unravel me, pull me to pieces
men study me & wonder why
is she so tightly wound
one day a man will come along &
he will have the aspect of an
angel chiseled in alabaster & he
will have spells oozing from his
tongue like honey & he will have
hands without fists & he will have
curiosities in delicate systems & he
will have no sense of prudence &
he will have a hard time hearing no &
when his gentle hands loos en i t fr
om my ne ck i
t wi ll be to o lat e fo r
sor
ry & i to
ld yo u so th
e
dama
ge is alr
eady
done
Ariel Clark-Semyck is a graduate from University of Notre Dame. She lives in Chicago where she serves as a part-time henchwoman for various places of business. Her poems have been published in or are forthcoming in Dream Pop Journal, Witch Craft Magazine, Yes Poetry, Rag Queen Periodical, and The Nottingham Review.
Occulum 