Sunday, April 12, 2009

Coupling - by Millicent Borges Accardi



Coupling

The woman thought she would be good,
making sure he washed,

rescuing black stockings, wood pile
scraps. Finding theatre tickets

and collecting parking stubs.
She thought she would be good

at using his soap. Remembering
not to wear perfume and waking

up to call home. In the hotel,
hiding while the hot water ran,

her heart compact as plywood.
She thought she would be good

at belonging. The bulk of her time
a two-by -four dove-tailed into a corner,

getting the best he had to offer.
She thought she had a talent for being aloof.

On him, she made few demands.
When he was away, she imagined

his heart open, fearless
hands holding a piece of wood steady

while a diamond-point blade cut through.


Millicent Borges Accardi has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the arts (NEA), the California Arts Council, the Barbara Deming Foundation (Money for Women), Jentel, and the Corporation of Yaddo. Her work has appeared in over 50 literary publications including Nimrod, Tampa Review, New Letters and Wallace Stevens Journal as well as a in Boomer Girls (Iowa Press) anthology. She lives in Topanga, CA and telecommutes as a technical writer. She presently has three manuscripts in progress, looking forward to the publication of her first book. This fall, she was an artist in residence at Fundación Valparaíso in Mojacar, Spain.

All this information from http://womensvoicesforchange.org/poetry-friday-millicent-borges-accardi.htm

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