To Consume a Woman

The subtle chew
or pilfered sip
I am gnawed
To cherry stems

The slightest hand
A magic trick
Refusal springs
Negotiation

Wrenching bow
Against violin string
Imperceptibly
Pulled taut

There used to be a warning
A glorious airshow
Now resilience is battered
Worn By nicety
And benefit of doubt

With curiosity I observe
Gazelle made lion’s meal
Necklace made noose
I barely notice
Your walls closing in

No Measure in Loss

The whole of me becomes a wash
undoing sense
abandoning ideology
I cease the politic;
the economy of reason
I am pleasure, wine, meat –
torn from yesterday’s meaning
Here I am
speaking in tongues
believing in ghosts
doing what I said I never would
with fervor
with reverie
I welcome you home
tell you about my day
weep in that solitary space we could never fill
and toast those bitter ashes of you

—

Andrea Capere is an emerging poet and filmmaker living in Tacoma, WA. She’s been published in college publications Trillium (Tacoma Community College) and The Matrix (Pacific Lutheran University’s Social Justice Literary Magazine).