More Noise Than Just the Wind and Rain
Amelia Gorman
She likes being a harp more
than she ever liked being a woman
(both more than the thought of being a bird
with bones that break under the pressure of love)
Still before her body was broken down
to make this boney soundboard, this wired voice
golden down to its tarsal pedals
she’d play herself like an instrument-
fingers dug deep inside-
hands plugging holes in her neck-
to coax forth shining sounds just for her
In this city of corpses
turned into music
where one cello bows a ransom note
onto a second
and the pianos line up their keys
to write poison pen letters
that run their ink hard
down the canal for miles
Amelia Gorman is a recent transplant to Eureka, California. In her free time you can usually find her exploring tide pools and redwoods with her dogs and foster dogs. Her first chapbook, “Field Guide to Invasive Species of Minnesota” is forthcoming from Interstellar Flight Press. Find her online at www.ameliagorman.com and on twitter at @gorman_ghast.