"decline mantra (aldi at 46th and market)" by Diandra Williams

"There is a look one sees,
the mouth somehow desperate–
…
the fear of death, taking as its form
dedication to hunger…"
- Louise Glück

b/c one day i will want for nothing
b/c one day i will not want
b/c one day i will need nothing to want for
b/c one day my body will cease to function
b/c one day my body will function outside itself
b/c one day my body will cease functioning as a vessel for causeless desire
b/c one day my body will cease desiring cease to function
b/c one day the flesh of the earth will clothe the body’s naked hunger
b/c one day i will feed off nothing but the dirt’s choicest cuts
b/c one day the dirt’s best nourishment will stonewall the body’s needing & wanting
b/c one day i will become dirt
my gut become dirt
pelvis become dirt
hands legs spinal column become dirt
skull cavity encompass dirt drawing down dirt to become
dirt
one day
b/c the hungry ghost of my body seeks grene pasture & stil waters
one day
b/c feeding the 5000 remains a miracle, not a reality
one day
b/c desperate measures leave ample room for development
one day
b/c 2Bd / 2Br Luxury Apts resign us to dirt
b/c the PIN #: **** issues DECLINE
& no other

b/c a woman’s body is a grave
b/c the rectum is a grave
b/c the coffin of my body cradles your body
it will accept all manner of things

————————————–

Diandra Williams called us from Philadelphia, PA.

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