PEAR I, PEARING (PEAR II), PEAR III & A page on a bus is wet with salt by Stella Theocharides
PEAR I
hard to contain a pear, or joy
when it starts crunching out
of the green body squirming
as it ripens flushed skin
snapping sugar flood surface
tension feet red tread
ing carpet begging loud ly unclean ly
MOVE ! my soles want
to kick sick air
&feel this
dead cold lick back
… ead old … ick ack
PEARING (PEAR II)
pear
peer
you
peering in
green
skin
ring ring ring ring ring ringing
it’s unlocked
I unlocked it
I unlocked it for you
the pear is probably ripe. give
me a prod. see
how the skin yields—
that means
you can eat it
ring ring ring ring ! give
it a prod
push
the door flesh
peer through keyhole
see a brown eye
pear seed peer back
prod enter
an open field
locket full
of grass
pores
pouring
out
pouring in pear ing slow
snow pea
peaking
I mean you
outside peering in
inside peering out
snowing and
peeking
it means (a slope open
to be eaten ing)
PEAR III
.
. .
watch grass flies gathe ring . .
on the core brown . . s
or going brown . t
seven and more approaching grey wing a
stem upright statue, cord dignified nding he
once tied the whole pear
to the air once kept
his fruit afloat and dry so well... but
now the earth ..&
now the juicy gravity of
decomposition…
oh we are not eaten today except by the dirt ..
oh the grass flies are coming quickly now . .
oh I thought the rot would someday give .
in to itself learn .. …
how to touch me how to taste good how to separ
ate the stringy core ..
stuck in
my full teeth
teeth[c]teeth[l]teeth[o]teetht
eethteethteeth[s]teeth[e]teeth
and yours too
teeth[s]teeth[k]teethteethteeth
teethteethteeth[i]teeth[n]teeth
teeth[d]teeth[i]teethteethteethteeth[r]teeth[t]teethteethteethteethteethteeth[s]teeth[k]teethteethteethteeth[i]teeth[n]teethteeth[w]teeth[a]teethteethteethteeth[r]teeth[m]teethteethteethteethteethteeth[w]teeth[o]teethteethteethteeth[r]teeth[m]teethteeth[r]teeth[o]teethteethteethteeth[t]teeth[s]teethteethteethteethteethteeth[o]teeth[n]teethteethteethteethteeth[o]teethteethteethteeth[n]teethteethteethteeth[o]teeth[n]teethteethteethteeth[o]teeth[y]teethteethteethteeth[e]teeth
A page on a bus is wet with salt
I.
a book folded under my arm pit
page trans parent
II.
run for the thing
you want –that bus
wants you in it, on it
waiting for it to slide _to a
stop open
two doors ask
where are you headed what do you want from me can
you come in and meet me now
my door is unlocked
III.
oh it kneels
so eagerly & the carpeted seats beckon gentle
they say to me enter and sit
I am watching you sink to the cement lip
of a warm road
IV.
I can see through paper to
another side soft black ink waters
an hour approaching
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