Poem
VOICE WITHOUT A MIRROR
by
Michael Spring
she is standing on the corner
of 4th and Minor
Billie Holiday
singing Strange Fruit
is stuck in her head
she can smile now
that she’s decided to leave
town -- she’s quit
the band and has poured
her collection of snakes
down the toilet --
she’s certain they’ll live
fattening themselves on vermin
and rats
under the city
a taxi stops--
the driver is a friend of hers--
she tells him to start the meter
and listen--
she’s broken the mirror
in her throat and decides now
is the time to begin again--
her voice rises above the oily
streets like a whirlwind
of birds
####
Michael Spring is Azorean-Portuguese, Choctaw and Irish, which might explain his love of surrealism.
He lives in Corvallis, Oregon where he's the poetry editor for a local art center paper. He is also coordinator for DaVinci Days Art and Science Festival.
He currently works in a group home for mentally and physically disabled adults.
He has poems forthcoming in ATLANTA REVIEW, MIDWEST QUARTERLY, BLACK BEAR REVIEW and SULPHUR RIVER LITERARY REVIEW.
He was Fishtrap, Inc's Writer In Residence in 2000, and currently completed a book of poems.
You can reach him at Bluecrow04@cs.com.
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