Waccamaw
NOTICE: You are currently viewing an ARCHIVED version of the Waccamaw. Visit the redesigned site.

Matrushka

                                    TJ Beitelman


What did you do when you made me in your
image—a mere gust of a thing, no more
whole than an eclipse? A supernova
comes alive in a wink. Roll me over
in flour, slowly. I’m boneless, tender. I’m
sustenance on a Sunday: candied yams,
collards, black-eye peas and me. Chart the stars—
go ahead: everything expands. Blur
the lines you make when you make forever . . .
—But supper. Now there’s a thing. What better
fate than pushing, pushing a tightening
wall in increments? What better lightning
could you conjure? I’m inside your insides.
No place to go but down or up. I’ve tried.


Copyright 2024 Waccamaw. All reprint rights reserved by authors.