Caroline Crew

Occasional Poem

my town’s mascot is a single
tear / this is a perfect expression /
because it is limited / and not pictured
related to a body / crying is a baroque
embarrassment on an actual face /
roiling troubles the porcelain / making
rust belts / industry is so important
for maintaining correct manners /
bend knee ungrazed / lips lined love
silently / grace is a mall department
store / I have spent the credit signed
to my married name / we have been
counseled not to lick our gifts /
macaroons in the parlor / paint chips
on the tongue / there are no saints
figurined from the martyrs of crinoline
fires / a story of dress vs. viscera /
though ballet is an art to die for / tutu
turned tinder / we have other girls
to burn for us /

Caroline Crew

Caroline Crew is the author of several chapbooks, including the forthcoming Caroline, Who Will You Pray to Now That You Are Dead (Coconut Books). Her work appears in Conjunctions, Salt Hill Journal, and Black Warrior Review, among others. Her full-length collection, PINK MUSEUM, will be out from Big Lucks in 2015. She's online here: caroline-crew.com

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