Poetry By Nicole Callihan

         Andrew Seaman CC




The Paper Anniversary (2)


Paper gowns are not as soft as cloth gowns are not as soft
as dirt        this insidious hurt       and this and this and that

that and that and that         a rat on the grave of a spouse
a mouse           two mouses      so mice        so fuzzy dice

in a sky blue van         I should’ve been a man       and I wuz
and I wan and wane          am as sane as a sanitary

napkin adhered to your big fat beautiful forehead
bring me your dead         let them dance in my bed

let them swoon and spin and spin and tap tap
                                                               tap     






The Paper Anniversary (3)


Paper gowns are not as soft as cloth gowns are not as soft
as dust      the uncle who cussed       and threw bottles

his face of mottles       this pace of piecing        of piecemeal
quiet thrill     grown shrill        grown silent as a mole

on your spine       oh you’re divine      in your shame
this blame      your name is mud        in my eye      a chicken

thigh I licked       gnawed to the bone      this moan
a wishbone caught                        in my pale clean throat 






The Paper Anniversary (4)


Paper gowns are not as soft as cloth gowns are not as soft
as water     as the eyelashes of my daughter

who perhaps I’ve disappointed       certainly anointed
the oils and creams     the comb I’ve mouthed a thousand times

the dreams      what a mystery this sealed vessel
this meal for worms       o how we squirm        in the face

of disaster   a vase full of asters    it’s not love
I’m after         but after the after        after the aftermath

in which x approaches infinity       the serenity
see also:                               my affinity for pain


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Nicole Callihan writes poems and stories. Her books include, This Strange Garment, forthcoming from Terrapin in 2023, as well as, SuperLoop, The Deeply Flawed Human, and ELSEWHERE (with Zoë Ryder White). Her work has appeared in Kenyon Review, Colorado Review, Conduit, The American Poetry Review, and as a Poem-a-Day selection from the Academy of American Poets. Find out more at www.nicolecallihan.com.
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