Poem Published in Caesura!

/ stephanielharper

The 2023 issue of Caesura: objects in the mirror is a print publication of Poetry Center San Jose.

Thank you all for reading!  

The Hole

twinge
above your right brow

in a mirror     that dusky spot

the hole
acute     scalene     deep
about an inch in height
just above your right eyeball
loosened from its socket
oozing blood
from cracks around your lids

a clear view
to the back of your skull—
the bone is floodlit like a surgical theater

accentuating the osseous fabric’s
orderly interweaving of dark
green lettuce leaves
with your head’s sealed fissures

it makes no sense
but to accept it—

your neighbor     who constantly drops by
unannounced     needs you     again
to watch her kids tomorrow afternoon
“for just a few hours”

sure     not a problem

she’ll be inviting you to her wedding this summer
“third time’s the charm”

how nice

a flash
on the porcelain screen
(where your brain should be)
previews the upcoming afternoon—

gazebo with picnic tables
at the breezy confluence
of the Columbia & Willamette rivers

 daylight encasing you in the naked
mole-rat’s skin you’d mistaken
for a modest-pink sundress

siphoning the cash bar’s cut-rate Riesling
as you try to make small-talk without thinking

about the cool tingle of exposed bone
above your right brow
flora     slick in plasma     creeping out— 

which puts extra strain on the wobbly eyeball…

STEPHANIE L. HARPER

18 thoughts on “Poem Published in Caesura!”

  4. I’m always impressed with the depth of detail you are able to access and use in a poem! Congrats, Stephanie, and what a perfect poem for the Hallowe’en season!

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  8. I missed this one – and 👁️ love it… Seriously, the creeping horror of social obligation is always rich soil to till; it’s probably about 90% of my nightmares 😅

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