Mary Mackey
THE BREAKFAST NOOK
the vision comes
twice
the object out of context:
first the ducks
that look like snorkelers
black silhouettes
against a void
then at breakfast the next morning
the bowl that is no longer a bowl
but a white sound
swirling into
a depression
of unspeakable depth
the tea
a brown ocean
reflecting eight moons
my hand
a crippled starfish
naked, albino
floating up from the depths
holding a fork that has become
a long shining road
that branches at the end
into four paths
that lead nowhere
the spoon explodes
clicking and ringing
bell sounds
rain sounds
on a tin roof
water beaded on flesh
on metal
domes of water
sliding down glass
miniature worlds
distorted and luminous
senses systematically
deranged
the reflection is pitted
against the void
where no reflection
is possible
death is seen upside down
through a pin-hole camera
the cat in the mirror
attacks itself.
Copyright 2000, Mary Mackey
Mary Mackey is the author of four collections of poetry including
The
Dear Dance of Eros (Fjord Press) and eight novels including
The Earthsong Trilogy (The Year The Horses Came, The Horses At
The Gate, and The Fires of Spring). She can be reached at www.csus.edu/indiv/m/mackeym.
Switched-on Gutenberg/Vol. 4, No. 2
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