qarrtsiluni

…bats
nested in the disobedience of your hair.
—Austin Hummel, “Mirror, Mirror”

Sonnets lurked in your contumacious hair,
crawling the stressed tresses of your plaits;
waved their frilled amphiboles everywhere.
Jointed, scuttling things: eight metered plates
in each thorax; six more abdominal,
abominable segments; an excessive
sum of twitching legs and feet; aggressive,
protruding jaws; and what seemed nominal-
ly like a tail,
…………………..but wasn’t. When I suggested
you get yourself de-versified and ana-pested,
that iamb-dip might more likely be effective
than anti-dandruff shampoo, your invective
became somewhat intemperate and catty.
I still prefer your previous hairstyle — batty.

by F. J. Bergmann

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