Claw clasp,
lobster clasp,
Cuff,
anklet,
collar, brace-
let. Animal
clicks into
the sleeve, and
feeds on the
body heat:
neckline, press-
ure points, pulse
points. Mood ring
shifts from blue
to black. Blood
reveals its
nature. Blue
for romance.
Black for fear.
Stone for stone,
chain for chain
hoop for hoop
and pin for
pin. Ruby
for mistress,
diamond for
bride. It will
switch to pearl
in time. How
easily
the stone is
replaced. I
was two, and
it began
with buttons,
two: bright in
a line. Two
by two. By
and by, next
it was rhine-
stones that froze
the spine, next
my mother’s mother’s pendant
how it swung: an heirloom pen
-dulum clock, in response to
father’s father’s watch, belted
to the wrist and the sound
wouldn’t stop.
Next was the
monocle,
private eye,
Paramours
trap their hair
in the lock-
et’s frame. So,
excuse me
while I set
my death watch
to the hour
and hold it
to my ear:
hear the tick,
the lifting
of the skirts,
the turning
of the lock.
I’ve waited
centuries
for a promise
I could keep in
a heart-shaped
box.
Remove your
ring, or slide
it to the
other side.
Catalog
of gestures,
glinting and
gilt. Bevel
-cut sapphire,
pear emerald,
fat on the
ear of the party.
Such strife, be
they given
or denied,
and end fixed
inside glass,
in pawn shops.
these things can
be kept, or
thrown
aside.
lobster clasp,
Cuff,
anklet,
collar, brace-
let. Animal
clicks into
the sleeve, and
feeds on the
body heat:
neckline, press-
ure points, pulse
points. Mood ring
shifts from blue
to black. Blood
reveals its
nature. Blue
for romance.
Black for fear.
Stone for stone,
chain for chain
hoop for hoop
and pin for
pin. Ruby
for mistress,
diamond for
bride. It will
switch to pearl
in time. How
easily
the stone is
replaced. I
was two, and
it began
with buttons,
two: bright in
a line. Two
by two. By
and by, next
it was rhine-
stones that froze
the spine, next
my mother’s mother’s pendant
how it swung: an heirloom pen
-dulum clock, in response to
father’s father’s watch, belted
to the wrist and the sound
wouldn’t stop.
Next was the
monocle,
private eye,
Paramours
trap their hair
in the lock-
et’s frame. So,
excuse me
while I set
my death watch
to the hour
and hold it
to my ear:
hear the tick,
the lifting
of the skirts,
the turning
of the lock.
I’ve waited
centuries
for a promise
I could keep in
a heart-shaped
box.
Remove your
ring, or slide
it to the
other side.
Catalog
of gestures,
glinting and
gilt. Bevel
-cut sapphire,
pear emerald,
fat on the
ear of the party.
Such strife, be
they given
or denied,
and end fixed
inside glass,
in pawn shops.
these things can
be kept, or
thrown
aside.
