self portrait as ‘not’

A Poem by Maggie Munday O.

not anything that can be put in a box

not cursive loops or first date perfume

not the sensible dimensions of parallelograms

not anything manufactured on an assembly line

not minivan automatic doors or stop signs

not mass produced fish food pellets

not anything with an ounce of patience

not deli tickets or doctor’s office waiting rooms

not the petty pace of gaia’s orbit

not anything quiet

not airport chapels or lonely water fountains

not silent showers, empty of echoing trills

not anything fearing the end

not dylan thomas caving to the aching mattress

not icarus struck by a sudden fear of gravity

not anything tethered to anything else

not a name or a point on a map

not a home, not a home